# Workshop build little way from home.



## sometimewoodworker

I will be retiring soon and have the chance to have a reasonable size workshop as part of our house build.
As this is a build a little way from my home in Watford (about 6,000 miles) I will leave it to the members to decide if you want me to continue or if it is so far away that nobody's interested


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## RobinBHM

We like all WIP threads, one abroad would mek an interesting read.

Is it in Japan or Thailand?


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## DTR

Was I the only person who looked at the floor plan and thought: "Main workshop, machine room, finishing room, wood storage room...."?

Or are you going to ruin it by domesticating it? (hammer)


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## sometimewoodworker

RobinBHM":1wku8e2m said:


> We like all WIP threads, one abroad would mek an interesting read.
> 
> Is it in Japan or Thailand?


It is in the north east of Thailand about half way between Udon Thani and Khon Kaen or about 100km to the Laos border. Although I am currently working in Japan while my wife has to take charge in Thailand.

I had better wait a few days before proceeding and take a look at the vote in case you are a lone voice.

But I'm happy to give a little background information anyway.

I left the UK in about 1990 and came to Japan because it is close to Thailand about 15 years later I met my wife to be in Thailand.

My wife decided we should build a house and I agreed but with the proviso that I would get a workshop.

We started planning in about 2006 with an intention to start in 2008~2009, now there was a bit of a problem then, that "nobody's Darling" forced my bank into receivership. So my savings were potential wiped out. This caused an understandable delay. Progressing onto mid 2015 we finally had enough to start and possibly finish before I had to retire, maybe sooner.


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## sometimewoodworker

DTR":3bgo26hi said:


> Was I the only person who looked at the floor plan and thought: "Main workshop, machine room, finishing room, wood storage room...."?
> 
> Or are you going to ruin it by domesticating it? (hammer)



Hi Dave

There should be enough room for both, I hope. :deer 
Workshop on the left. Finishing room to be added outside and behind.
SWMBO insisted that we have a bedroom and kitchen/living room. #-o 

I get about 45% inside SWMBO gets 55% I get a paint room outside, she gets another kitchen outside in the banana jungle.


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## Glynne

Keep posting please!

At the risk of slightly derailing this thread I'm planning a holiday to Japan next Autumn (2017) and would love to see some traditional woodworking whilst I'm there. We (the boss & I) will be touring around so fairly flexible as to locations so if you've got any suggestions / recommendations that would be brilliant.


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## sometimewoodworker

Glynne":dkigl1nb said:


> Keep posting please!
> 
> At the risk of slightly derailing this thread I'm planning a holiday to Japan next Autumn (2017) and would love to see some traditional woodworking whilst I'm there. We (the boss & I) will be touring around so fairly flexible as to locations so if you've got any suggestions / recommendations that would be brilliant.


Hi Glynne

To my regret I have to confess that I know almost nothing about where you can see the work in progress. I have spent my time here working to get enough money to travel outside Japan. If you are interested in seeing examples of traditional work I can help with that. As my wife dragged me to Kyoto and Nara the two main concentrations of temples and shrines.

If you want to buy tools most of them are about half the price you see in the UK and I can point you in the direction of places you can get consumer grade tools (that is the majority of the tools available in the UK) and a good selection as well, if you follow the link in my signature there is a section of pictures taken in some stores. I don't know where to buy the tools like planes and chisels that are upwards of £500 each that would be made by the most famous smiths.


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## sometimewoodworker

So far at 95% to 5% to continue I will for now. The pole runs until the middle of October and you can change you vote if you want, so you are welcome to change your mind. 

One caveat is that I will be putting in some gratuitous information or pictures, here is one.



A bit of a flashback, the sketchup models in the first post are made by our architect from his CAD file. 

This was my first run at a model, my sketchup skills are modest to poor so the 1st floor was separated or easy viewing. Originally the house ceiling hight was more normal, but the workshop always was going to have enough room to move a full 2440mm X 1220mm piece of sheet material without hitting anything up high.




Second iteration; SWMBO said she didn't want space we were not going to use for ourselves that she would have to clean for not much benefit (we can't reproduce) so she decided the house would be one floor. To make life easier she also said the ceiling heights should be the same. This will give us between 3.6m and about 5.7m in the living room. More importantly it gives me a minimum of 4m in the workshop.

The workshop is designed so that we can put a car or pickup inside for security if we want to go away for some time. It is also designed to have a loading dock/parking area. This will allow easy off loading of plywood or machines but probably more often packs of water and the monthly shopping, we are over an hour from the nearest large supermarket so 100L of mineral water at a time is common, I probably drink 3~5 litres a day.

This was the sketchup model we gave to the architect.













Preparing for posting in Japan at 9:53 a.m. Tuesday, 27 September 2016


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## sunnybob

Location is immaterial.
I wanted to move to Thailand about a dozen years ago, but the laws then meant a foriegner couldnt buy property outright and had to have a native in part ownership.
So i moved to cyprus instead.

Not too sure about flower pictures though, I think thats stretching the envelope.


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## rafezetter

Keep em coming - and I wonder which grumpy sod voted no?


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## sunnybob

I expect it was the threat of flowers that decided the no vote. A little too far off topic.


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## Lons

I for one find it interesting so keep 'em coming please.
Bob


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## sometimewoodworker

sunnybob":xd0eu6p8 said:


> I expect it was the threat of flowers that decided the no vote. A little too far off topic.


In defense of the lone no vote it did in fact come before the Flowers.

However in defence of the flowers, they are in my garden in front of my Waterhouse, the main house is in the picture behind, this means that they a far less of a diversion than some of the other things that I will be posting. Although I will be keeping the off-topic posts and Pictures down to a small percentage

This picture is how the house is currently but it will take quite some time before I get to this stage in my posting









Posting will take a little time as I'm having to find a reasonable subset of the 3,000 plus pictures and then reduce them in size for UKW


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## sometimewoodworker

The design of the workshop / house was influenced by the Sala/Waterhouse we built in one of our pools, the Waterhouse has a little Japanese flavour to it though the second level of roof is designed so that we can fit water tanks in, it isn't supposed to be just decorative.





The architect followed our design with some suggested modifications. The most important was to have some floor to ceiling wall space between the windows in the workshop. My modification was to change his over slung crane to an under slung design. 

Maybe you didn't notice that there is a crane in the workshop  It's there because SWMBO doesn't like being asked to help and a full 20mm MDF or Thai plywood sheet is too heave to move without some kind of help. I also would like a BIGWOOD BIGWOOD_MJ_344B 16“ or MJ-345 20” bandsaw and the crane will make moving tools quite easy.



These are some of the drawings 



Before starting we needed to follow the local traditions so there was a ceremony at the local Buddha statue asking the Buddha for good luck, the lottery number just after the ceremony was 11 and that's the scheduled official start day, so maybe it worked. It included a pigs head that in true frugal Thai style was then eaten by SWMBO and friends.



Then there was a small ceremony on the building area asking the land god to move and let us build.



We then did a soil bearing test to establish the sizes needed for the footings.




As you may appreciate this procedure is a little more simple than getting planning permission, it isn't needed in our village as we are so far from town.


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## sometimewoodworker

Sorry for the slow pace, the new semester is a busy time. Any way on with the story. 

We got in a small digger to help with the foundations 



As you can see some of them are quite big




They are preparing them quite well compacting the base



Very unusual for Thailand is the wire coil for helical stirrups 


A thin concrete base befor the pad is poured




Quite a few of the labourers are women 




Preparing for the first post ceremony 





Preparing for posting at 11:52 a.m. Thursday, 13 October 2016


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## sometimewoodworker

More from November 

Adding money to the foundations for luck


Neighbors helping putting up one of the first posts


Neighbors helping putting up the other of the first posts

Thin concrete base

Correct, but uncommon, spacers under the rebar

Irrelevant banana plants just beside the house 


Again a common sight in the UK a concrete bucket, but less common in Thailand 


We are going to use a UFER ground but our architect decided to add a ground spike as well





An unusual, for Thailand, spiral stirrup.





Preparing for posting at 3:47 p.m. Thursday, 13 October 2016 (my class is busy now)


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## Phil Pascoe

Bananas? Common in Thailand, less common in GB. I've just been told to cut back the one on my allotment as it is too big and they don't allow trees. I don't think they liked it when I told them bananas aren't trees.


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## sometimewoodworker

phil.p":2wd925ok said:


> Bananas? Common in Thailand, less common in GB. I've just been told to cut back the one on my allotment as it is too big and they don't allow trees. I don't think they liked it when I told them bananas aren't trees.


Of course you are completely correct it is a grass as is bamboo and papaya. So the jobsworths should have banned very large/tall plants :lol: because they would probably allow a box tree.


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## Phil Pascoe

I have read that technically it is a herb. Whatever - it's a monocotyledon.


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## sunnybob

Theres lots of banana plants / trees /herbs/ whatever, around here. You cant believe the space a single plant takes up. Incredible amount of green material for a few fruits/ vegetables/ whatever, and I dont even like them.


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## sometimewoodworker

November December 

More foundations




Foundations completed and back filled

Keeping them damp for the first week 


The house and workshop are going to be raised off the ground for a few reasons including, ease of repair of plumbing pipe if needed, making it more difficult for snakes, centipedes scorpions and other wildlife to get into the house/workshop.

Starting on beam supports


More of the women construction workers 





The women are not limited to the lighter jobs 



The garden provides some free food for the work gang 



The workshop is being built to be able to park a car or few if we need to lock them up if we want to have a holiday. So some of the beams have a significant amount of rebar



Preparing for posting at 8:27 a.m. Friday, 14 October 2016


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## lee celtic

Very interesting.. snakes and centipedes eh.. I just get cats and the odd sheep looking in..lol


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## sometimewoodworker

December continued 

The rebar framework 



The way locals mix concrete 



SWMBO is proud of the fish she can get from our pool



A rarity in Thailand, a builder who does read the plans 



Shutting going in for the floor beams 



The shower/toilet gets a solid floor 



In the midst of the new there is a reminder that death is something that comes to us all. 
Nui's grandmother died of a cerebral haemorrhage.

This is a body freezer



Part of the ceremony 




The concrete poor is finished and ready for the floor planks 






Preparing for posting at 2:48 p.m. Tuesday, 18 October 2016


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## sometimewoodworker

December continued 

A Thai cremation is a spectator affair with family and friends paying their last respects.



Then the monks give a last blessing 



And finally the body is cremated



Back to the building, concrete planks are put down 



Rebar is put on top and formwork is put in place





They did use a helicopter but might as well have not bothered as they didn't leve a flat floor.



I managed to fly in on Christmas Day, as you can see in Thailand we can carry a few more people in one pickup than would be legal in the UK



Preparing the column shuttering 



A crane carried concrete bucket is much easier than individual builders buckets




Preparing for posting at 12:59 p.m. Wednesday, 19 October 2016


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## sometimewoodworker

Christmas/New year

Wrapping the posts, using up a great auction purchase from 40 years ago



The new year holiday break 



This is the time of year when the sugar can is burned to get ready for harvest 



New year starting on some top beams, concrete and steel 



Getting the front stairs ready steel I beams for the car ramp and parking/loading dock



What happens if you get your measurements wrong





One of the two trusses that will be about 18 meters long



Preparing for top concrete beams







Preparing for posting at 6:17 p.m. Wednesday, 19 October 2016


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## sometimewoodworker

There's been a little bit of a hiatus due to replacing my iPad 
Anyway continuing;

Starting with papaya for the main Issarn meal of somtam 


Getting the stars ready for pouring 



Spiral wound stirrups for round posts 



Re-enforcement for the security room



A high tower is needed to place the forms



The "finished" steps (there is a bit of problem with these, more later)



Shutting going up for the security room 



Final welding on the 2 X 18 metre trusses 



Truss placement 



Fixing the trusses in place



Preparing for posting at 3:01 p.m. Tuesday, 22 November 2016


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## sometimewoodworker

With insulation being at least as important as in the UK the walls are going to be double AAC block construction 



The spacing of the skins is dependent upon the thickness of the posts 



AAC blocks 



A wall in progress 



The roof steel is going up 



The inside of the security room doesn't look too good at the moment 



Oxypropane cutting to length



One of the big advantages of AAC bloc is that woodworking tools work.



Another advantage is the very thin "glue" line needed 



Double walls mean that electricity and water pipes can go in the voids 



Preparing for posting at 3:34 p.m. Tuesday, 22 November 2016


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## sometimewoodworker

Spacing and height for some of the workshop power sockets 



These are kitchen outlets, over and under the work surface.



The roof substructure is close to finished



More workshop outlets



We had a problem with the water supply, so the fire brigade was used to supply water to each house!





Roof frame again



Workshop outlets 


Its a building site


Outlets at about 50cm intervals 



Preparing for posting at 22:30 p.m. Tuesday, 22 November 2016


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## SteveF

it may be a building site
but a fantastic one

looking good, keep the pictures coming

Steve


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## Morten

SteveF":1ijvwjnp said:


> it may be a building site
> but a fantastic one
> 
> looking good, keep the pictures coming
> 
> Steve



+1


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## sometimewoodworker

SteveF":2ze3uxle said:


> it may be a building site
> but a fantastic one
> 
> Steve


Thanks Steve,

I don't know about fantastic, it is certainly an expensive one. 

These two contracts are ฿2,200,000 foundations, security room, posts and roof steel and ฿800,000 walls water and electrics ( ฿3,000,000=£68,000) 
Now that might not seem expensive to you but when you know that SWMBO built a complete house for her grandmother for about £8,000 :shock: so we could have had 8 of those houses and still had and change for the same money that is a different story.   

Preparing for posting at 5:02 a.m. Wednesday, 23 November 2016


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## marcros

looking good


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## ColeyS1

Truly fascinating build. Not sure why I've only just seen this. It's gonna brilliant when it's finished! 

Coley


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## SteveF

£68k gets u quite a nice space though
I know what u r saying though
4000 baht gets u a nice suit made compared with £300 so a 1/3rd cost of uk
which still makes your mansion only £200k uk
and u get a very nice lifestyle 
no kids and I would consider myself

Steve


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## Wildman

I have somehow missed this thread as well, it is very interesting even if everything looks to be massively overbuilt, what is the idea of the security room, are you expecting earthquakes, nuclear bombs, unruly natives or what. Is there mains leccy or will you have your own genny. No mains water what about a well? Lots of solar power I hope.


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## sometimewoodworker

SteveF":17tax6gl said:


> £68k gets u quite a nice space though
> I know what u r saying though
> 4000 baht gets u a nice suit made compared with £300 so a 1/3rd cost of uk
> which still makes your mansion only £200k uk
> and u get a very nice lifestyle
> no kids and I would consider myself
> 
> Steve


 I think you may have missed the point, that the 68K is only a framework when the house is finished it's going to be a lot more than £68k. When we get to the windows and 2 doors that's another £29k.


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## sometimewoodworker

Wildman":19gpazcc said:


> I have somehow missed this thread as well, it is very interesting even if everything looks to be massively overbuilt, what is the idea of the security room, are you expecting earthquakes, nuclear bombs, unruly natives or what. Is there mains leccy or will you have your own genny. No mains water what about a well? Lots of solar power I hope.



Over built, possibly, but that is what the architect designed and I don't know enough to argue. Also the workshop is designed to be car parking if we go away. 

Hummm, mains water, sometimes. Mains leccy usually, but often cuts of several hours. Security room is to usually use for storage but also to lock away my expensive tools when we want to have a holiday, I've got a few thousand pounds of festool toys that I wouldn't be able to replace and theft is probably more common in Thailand than in the U.K. 

Solar power, no we can't sell any extra back. Solar hot water yes, based on a system pioneered in Kathmandu.


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## sometimewoodworker

February 2016 ->

The walls are coming along nicely. The finished height will be 3.8 metres 



Joining 2 H beams which will be part of the crane. It is unusual to get lengths over 6M. There are 4 points that the lengthwise beams will be suspended from, these two will be at the ends





The front house wall



An automated oxy propane cutting machine 





High quality locally built ucaliptus wood movable support 



The alternative steel version 



Windows and doors have cast-in-place concrete surrounds



Looking at the area between the two roofs we've noticed a problem with the placement of the windows and need to move them down to be cantered in the opening, fortunately it is an easy change at this stage



Preparing for posting at 10:01 a.m. Friday, 25 November 2016


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## sometimewoodworker

February continued.

The roof shape of the house is beginning to come into view now.


The front support H-beam for the crane is being lifted into place.






Elf'n safety! = don't fall down mate.



The H-beam is being bolted into the cement with four bolts that are being cast in place. I'm not sure that this is going to be strong enough. So what I've decided to do is add a support underneath and if it begins to drop then the support will be easy to see bending outwards



The support/telltale upright.



You can see where the original cross beam was attached, about 30cm above the bottom beam





Looking down into the workshop area.



Preparing for posting at 5:43 p.m. Friday, 25 November 2016


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## sometimewoodworker

Even more from February.

Looking down into my workshop in the area where my shower and toilet will be.



This is the steel that's been cut out with the Oxy propane gas cutter and it's going to be used to reinforce the trusses so is that the runway beams for the crane can be fitted to them.



As you can see our house is in the countryside, the nearest town is about 8 km, and the nearest city is about 50 km.



Adding Sherwood above the top windows painting it



I think that I'm probably going to have enough power sockets, on this wall they are about every 50 cm and four outlets in one box.



SWMBO inspecting the reinforcing steel for the trusses



The crane runway beams are getting a rust prevention undercoat.



One of the architectural team inspecting the welding of the truss reinforcement.



What will be the front Veranda and car parking shade area



How do you move a six meter crane runway beam? The answer is get enough people and pick it up



Preparing for posting at 8:14 p.m. Friday, 25 November 2016

Do let me know if I'm posting too many pics (or not enough :lol: ). These are a small selection of the thousands I've got. :roll:


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## SteveF

keep it going


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## sometimewoodworker

February Still

I got to assist making our gutter fit



Fitting clips onto the inner wall for water pipes using the right angle attachment on my festool CXS





Waterproofing a bend on the gutter 



One of the finished runway beams 



One of the finished runway beams mostly fitted



One of the 5 X 1 ton rated trollies that will be used in the crane 



The bridge girder



Top beams of window openings supports in place while curing





Preparing for posting at 6:12 a.m. Monday, 28 November 2016


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## sometimewoodworker

February and into March 


The workers didn't get the correct information that all 90 degree bends had to be 45 + 45 they get to cut out the 90's and refit with doubled 45‘s

Our water supply will sometimes be very low pressure so it needs all the help it can get.






On a side note I built a simple rocket stove 







One of the pairs of workshop windows in progress 



We get nice big windows in the kitchen 2X3metre plus a 2 metre glass door and a 1 metre one



SWMBO is pointing out the rubbish left around by the workers, we have it in the contracts that the site has to be kept clear of stuff like this otherwise it would be everywhere.





Preparing for posting at 8:45 a.m. Monday, 28 November 2016


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## sometimewoodworker

March and the roof has arrived (another million + Baht)


8am and the crane we hired for the morning is arriving 


By 9am with no sign of the roof artic. I was getting worried that we might need to pay double for the crane.

But just after 10am it was sighted 



It was an interesting experience getting the tractor-trailer into our garden 



However it was managed without tipping the tractor over (it looked to me at one point that it was a real possibility)



The crane driver, roof delivery driver and roofing team soon had the parts almost flying onto the roof substructure, so though planned to take 4 hours it was finished in just 2







The crane was able to leave on time at 12noon after the roof truck had gone 



By about 4pm a very good start had been made on fitting the roof. 





While waiting for the roof delivery SWMBO was feeding the fish so I put together a shortish video of progress up-to the point of putting the roof on

(One of these links should work)

https://youtu.be/8nRjWFvhubo

For phones and tablets under

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8nRjWFvhubo


Preparing for posting at 9:43 a.m. Monday, 28 November 2016


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## sometimewoodworker

The colourbond roof is going on quickly this is after about 3 hours work




Details of the clip system









There are a couple of gaps hat will get patching, but will have a flashing over the to and PU foam underneath so no problem 



Patched



I'm not sure I'd want the job







Preparing for posting at 3:11 p.m. Tuesday, 29 November 2016


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## sometimewoodworker

After 2 half days and 3 full ones the metal part of the roof is finishing 










Now it's time to relax and go fishing 







2 views of the roof inside the workshop 





Preparing for posting at 3:22 p.m. Tuesday, 29 November 2016


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## sometimewoodworker

A couple of local delicacies while I'm preparing the next episode


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## sometimewoodworker

Early March

Now the roof is on the interior work doesn't have to stop because of rain.

The workshop windows are taking shape



Runway beam and internal workshop wall with second roof and windows 





Detail of water prevention 



Wire mesh to stop the render cracking at the joints between the AAC block and concrete framework 



Preparing the roof for its PU foam coating 





Looking down into the workshop, a view that will soon be blocked. 



Standard Thai septic tank



Demonstrating the correct way to tie a knot.



Preparing for posting at 8:44 a.m. Friday, 09 December 2016


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## sometimewoodworker

Early March continued crane detail

In the foreground is the bridge girder 

Cutting a section of I-beam to form end trucks





Smoothing the cut on the top of the end truck



Lifting the bridge girder so it can be bolted to the end trucks





The bridge girder is now attached to the end trucks but still needs stabilising.



Stabilisers being cut from another length of I-beam 



Putting on some nice yellow paint



Render undercoat 



Smoothing the render topcoat 



Preparing for posting at 11:46 a.m. Friday, 09 December 2016


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## sometimewoodworker

March PU foam:
The foam has two primary functions in our case to insulate from heat is the main one but equally important is sound reduction. We are in the tropics and so when it rains it is often really heavy so much so that with no sound insulation it is difficult to hear people if they don't shout.



Notice the protective head gear 



The protection is a balaclava, so he can breathe and a plastic food bag to protect the balaclava and his eyes.



It's going up quickly. I decided that 25mm was likely to be enough and a reasonable balance between cost and performance 



The foam is adding to the water resistance of the roof 



It also helps seal the roof.







The foam is good at sticking to most surfaces so they need protecting 





Preparing for posting at 8:18 a.m. Monday, 12 December 2016


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## sometimewoodworker

March PU foam: final

Protective clothing  the shirt and trousers are thrown away after two jobs!



The safety protecting plastic bag is changed when needed, about 1 per hour



The pump and two of the chemical barrels used



The workshop wall and window openings with the foamed roof



Inside the workshop withe the dividing wall to reduce noise transfer into the house side. You can see the completed crane in place 





A pressure test that was using way too much pressure (but mostly holding)



The correct pressure easily being held by the water system, that uses PPR pipe. 



Sacks of render being offloaded 



Our pickup using the workshop loading dock



Preparing for posting at 3:34 p.m. Monday, 12 December 2016


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## sometimewoodworker

A little bit of history first

This picture is from about 2006 or 2008 you can easily see the posts for our water house. We put them in when digging the earth to raise the base for our house forming the first pool



The next satellite picture was about 6 years later and clearly shows the completed water house, sunshade and SWMBO's 3 pools together with evidence of her hard work in the garden 



Then we have a lower resolution picture from November or December 2015 showing progress in the garden and foundations of the house 



Very much to our surprise google updated the imagery again in April 2016 so you can now see the finished roof and temporary gravelled drive way 



Everyone, including SWMBO raking the drive gravel 



This gives a sense of the size of the workshop with its ensuite toilet and shower.



Mostly finished window openings



Another view out of the workshop, enough power points?



A view out of our bedroom 



Putting in gutter down pipes 



Preparing for posting at 10:02 a.m. Friday, 16 December 2016


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## sometimewoodworker

April-> May 

The kitchen living room is progressing 



SWMBO moving ghost trees



From the front it's looking more house like



Back in Japan it's wisteria season 



And strange gift season as well



4 views of the workshop 









Car access and loading bay



Preparing for posting at 10:58 a.m. Thursday, 29 December 2016 (Thailand)


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## sometimewoodworker

May -> June 

The house is progressing 







The workshop floor was supposed to be mostly flat, it wasn't!











It is now, mostly 





Preparing for posting at 11:20 a.m. Thursday, 29 December 2016 (Thailand)


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## sometimewoodworker

Back after a bit of hard work with progress 

The windows are ready for shipping.






The window and door installation team having a bit of a sit down after the 500km drive from Bangkok.





Assembling the longer windows 





A very unusual site on a Thai building site, a safety harness.






One of the high level opening windows 






Some workers don't bother with the safety equipment.






One of the window frames will need to be replaced as it was imperfectly made.






Local colour. The school bus rescues an iron buffalo.











A start on the outside ceiling


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## sometimewoodworker

The laminated IGU's coming off the truck 











Two of the installation team's drills 






Fitting a kitchen/living room window 













The workshop windows are going in 






A couple of doors 











The bedroom windows






More workplace safety


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## sometimewoodworker

The details of the glass for one of the doors.







The village decided to enlarge some of the water storage so you can get a look at both the house and wter "sala" from the road






SWMBO decided on the design for our front (show) wall 






Having picked up a load of our tiles and thincoat it is really convenient to bring the pickup into the workshop so we can keep everything dry, probably about 1 ½ tonnes.












A view of a few of the workshop windows together with my crane.






My workshop shower and toilet with a couple of tile pictures.






SWMBO doing a quality control check on the fitting of the tiles in living room/kitchen 






The computer room looking from the living room.






Master bedroom ceiling detail.


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## sometimewoodworker

Some of the lighting in the master bedroom with dimmable colour changing LED's






The living room floor 






The living room ceiling from the same view point 






The master shower and toilet with SWMBO's choice of pictures 











Tiles going down in the workshop. There are 3 different tile styles because we bought many of our tiles after the Bangkok flooding a couple of years ago at half price but had to guess the area we would need as we hadn't designed the house then.


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## sometimewoodworker

I had to make a quick visit, in advance of my retirement from teaching in Japan, to take some more tools to Thailand.

This is the secondary use of the workshop, secure parking, out of sight is out of mind.





















I'm looking forward to outfitting the workshop and getting to work on all the projects I have lined up.


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## ro

Just found this thread. Fascinating build. Thank you for sharing so many pictures


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## sometimewoodworker

ro":2gaxg5kq said:


> Just found this thread. Fascinating build. Thank you for sharing so many pictures


You are too kind.

FWIW the pictures are a very small selection from the several thousand I have.


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## sometimewoodworker

Things have been progressing at a slow and steady pace, though I haven't kept up with posting as I've been rather busy.

One design decision is to have a separate painting and finishing room to keep the house free from toxic fumes 











There seems to be a bit of a glitch so more in the next post


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## sometimewoodworker

I've also completed putting up the raised ceiling lights, there are about 50 of them and 5 groups to vary the light level





















A little bit out of date order, SWMBO was chatting to her friend last week and asking a bit of a morbid question, she asked if her friend could help to price up my tools after I die. Her friend works for Häfele her in Thailand.

Her friend said that she certainly could, but as that would be quite a long time off would I like a Festool HB-850 at a steep discount (40% off retail) because they had ordered too many. So my new toy is in the post to me and will arrive next week.


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## sometimewoodworker

SWMBO said she wasn't going to be involved in building again, not quite true.





















SWMBO rather likes bright colours inside the house











The finished results are quite nice


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## sometimewoodworker

The balcony is in need of a railing so we incorporated some seating


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## sometimewoodworker

After 27 years it's finally time to say fair well to Japan 





The air temperature was around -1 degrees C but the sun so hot and still, rolled up sleeves were comfortable 











A little party






Again with my university colleges






Tokyo was determined to see us off with a little gift.





















Final packing


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## sometimewoodworker

Early this year one of the things that has interrupted my posting happened. My eldest brother died, we were not at all close and I knew that his health wasn't good so it was no great surprise or sadness. 


he specifically wanted bright flowers so he got them. However the funeral gave me an excuse to come back to the UK & catch up with my other brothers 


and quite a few people who work with FSC a camping charity that I worked for, for about 30 years. 


























While working with my FSC colleagues I was also able to get some practice, learn, MIG welding, some of my welds missed completely but most of them were strong and about ½ of the looked good as well




Regrettably I was also able to buy a few too many tools so my Check-in baggage was a little over weight at about 50 kg

On the way back I got to visit the African continent for the first time as I had an 18 hour layover in Addis Ababa so it took 3 days from the UK to Thailand, it sounds bad but it was actually good


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## sometimewoodworker

A minor update,

SWMBOs friend happens to work for Häfele Thailand, the Thai importers for Festool, and while she was discussing and ordering some of their products her friend mentioned that she had over ordered the Festool HB 850 planers and would we like to buy one at a significant discount this made the price similar to the UK price so about 45% off the Thai price. So I have a new addition to my Festool stable. It does provide an amazingly smooth finish.
















I am also getting round to finishing and fitting the first of the beautiful doors we bought a couple of months ago. I decided that I would have to finish sand and finish them myself, that was a good choice as probably they would not have taken the time to sand all the grooves, the grooved design was a bit of a mistake as they have taken a full day for just 1 door.


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## sometimewoodworker

The doors are coming along nicely and the Osmo door oil is giving a beautiful finish, though there are a couple of places where it's clear to me that I didn't wipe the excess off on the first coat.












The 6 panel door hasn't been trimmed to size yet, the 2 panel door needs trimming for hight and needs a ¼" slot routing in the bottom for the guide pin, neither of these jobs are difficult with the tools I've got.


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## sometimewoodworker

On a bit more af a woodworking note things have been progressing.

We had visitors due coming over from the UK and felt that sleeping on the floor wasn't a good idea.





















































And a construction video 

[youtube]_Qnou6s58fg[/youtube]


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## sometimewoodworker

Unnecessary post & I can't see a way to delete it.

Mod advice, or anyone who knows?


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## sometimewoodworker

A more recent update on the bed with some construction details.
This will be getting a storage headboard sometime in the future


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## sometimewoodworker

I'll be jumping around in time, there are a few projects that have been completed and several underway at the moment, this is one in the planning stages now

The time has come to plan draws to go under the bed so I've had to start up my windows VM, about the only thing that I use it for is updating Winblows 10 and running CutList Plus fx. 

There will be 6 drawers in total none of them will be the same size only some of the drawer sides will be the same so that is 30 parts to fit into the fewest number of sheets of plywood. Rather than bother juggling with arrangements I long ago decided to let computers do the work.





















Showing that the iPad or iPhone is now extremely useful in the workshop
















Regrettably the iPad is only a viewer for the file that has to be generated on a windows machine, but it is virtually dust proof so great in the workshop.


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## Tealeaf

Just found this thread and read it from end to end. Fascinating build and peak into life in a different country. Bravo!

Sent from my Pixel 3a XL using Tapatalk


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## sometimewoodworker

Tealeaf":2vg39jo5 said:


> Just found this thread and read it from end to end. Fascinating build and peak into life in a different country. Bravo!


If there are any topics that are specially interesting please let me know and I can probably expand on those. I've been living away from my U.K. home for so many years now that I have become used to the unusual (to U.K. residents) strangeness and differences.


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## Jonathan S

Another here that's just seen this for the first time, very interesting build and great workshop!
Guess you get some intresting timbers in Thailand? 
A friend of mine bought a small piece of timber back from his Thai travels and I had a play with it .....will try and find a photo of it , maybe you can confirm which timber it is, naturally the lid is beach.

Jonathan 





Sent from my SM-J530F using Tapatalk


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## sometimewoodworker

Jonathan S":30ifnsy5 said:


> Another here that's just seen this for the first time, very interesting build and great workshop!
> Guess you get some intresting timbers in Thailand?
> A friend of mine bought a small piece of timber back from his Thai travels and I had a play with it .....will try and find a photo of it , maybe you can confirm which timber it is, naturally the lid is beach.
> 
> Jonathan
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my SM-J530F using Tapatalk


I'm not good at identifying wood but I've asked around and it could be meranti


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## loftyhermes

Jonathan S":3jdw8uxi said:


> Another here that's just seen this for the first time, very interesting build and great workshop!
> Guess you get some intresting timbers in Thailand?
> A friend of mine bought a small piece of timber back from his Thai travels and I had a play with it .....will try and find a photo of it , maybe you can confirm which timber it is, naturally the lid is beach.
> 
> Jonathan
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my SM-J530F using Tapatalk


Black Palm wood?


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## Jonathan S

I was told it was pineapple wood but having researched it couldn't find much.
Was also told the locals used it in construction, oh and also it was dried in the sun vertically. 

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## Tealeaf

sometimewoodworker":bfyyryxc said:


> If there are any topics that are specially interesting please let me know and I can probably expand on those. I've been living away from my U.K. home for so many years now that I have become used to the unusual (to U.K. residents) strangeness and differences.


As someone who used to live in Watford, I'm also used to strangeness and differences!

I think I'm most interested in the woods available and a workshop tour. I'm so jealous of the space and wood choice that you must have there, although I would guess humidity plays havoc with movement?

Sent from my Pixel 3a XL using Tapatalk


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## sometimewoodworker

Jonathan S":18bxy2fp said:


> I was told it was pineapple wood but having researched it couldn't find much.
> Was also told the locals used it in construction, oh and also it was dried in the sun vertically.


Someone was pulling your plonker, there is no pineapple wood 






Though now you mention that wood is used in building it is almost certainly coconut wood





That is used by unscrupulous builders if they can get away with it. It's an appalling construction material as it rots within 5 years or so, but is extremely cheap so people still use it.

Though in the piece you show it's probably as good as any other wood as it won't get outdoor exposure nor be subject to termites.


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## sometimewoodworker

Tealeaf":sd9xumif said:


> sometimewoodworker":sd9xumif said:
> 
> 
> 
> If there are any topics that are specially interesting please let me know and I can probably expand on those. I've been living away from my U.K. home for so many years now that I have become used to the unusual (to U.K. residents) strangeness and differences.
> 
> 
> 
> As someone who used to live in Watford, I'm also used to strangeness and differences!
> 
> I think I'm most interested in the woods available and a workshop tour. I'm so jealous of the space and wood choice that you must have there, although I would guess humidity plays havoc with movement?
Click to expand...


It's nice to know I'm not just posting for myself. Feedback is always welcome.

I'll certainly post more on the workshop, there is a section on page 4 in posts 
#p1115885 #p1115887 #p1180219 #p1180220 And SNEAK PEAK AT THE WORKSHOP #p1185150
Showing the construction 

Here is one of the security grills I've had a local make to my design and fit.

[youtube]nAa0QL9AbYo[/youtube]

Also a demonstration of moving a full sheet on to my workbench for cutting 

[youtube]5o1m3e9_10s[/youtube]

As to the wood species available it's rather difficult to know what exactly they are as the locals use local names and somthing like _Mai Daeng (ไม้แดง) _that translates to red wood isn't very helpful and even if you find the names Latin names they quite often don't have an English name.

Another point is that almost all wood in the wood yards is rough sawn so getting an idea of the grain patterns before buying is difficult. They will always plain the boards for a very reasonable price but unless there is a bad defect it's already yours.

I'm not buying often enough to build up knowledge of what there is, and what is available changes depending on what they have bought so even if I know the names of wood they may not have it or just substitute something else and not say.

For sheet goods it's a bit more clear. The best is Rubberwood, good quality, reasonably priced. Plywood is hit and miss, there is cheap low quality stuff easily available but better quality is not so easy and needs a 50km or 550km trip to get.

I've a few workshop projects to post soon and a workshop tour will ensure that some tidying up gets done.

As to humidity there is absolutely no problem as it's the variation in humidity that causes problems and in Thailand it is always moderate to high outside, my workshop is between 70% and 50% it's only if you run an AC full time your going to drop under that.


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## sometimewoodworker

I forgot about the view I had from my workshop windows at the end of last year, it was rather worrying at the time, and only about 12 metres from the house. 

Yes it was as loud as it sounds, my windows give a 30db drop in sound and it was loud in the house.

[youtube]dv-EmUjbPA4[/youtube]


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## MattyT

Jonathan S":33szf9wc said:


> Another here that's just seen this for the first time, very interesting build and great workshop!
> Guess you get some intresting timbers in Thailand?
> A friend of mine bought a small piece of timber back from his Thai travels and I had a play with it .....will try and find a photo of it , maybe you can confirm which timber it is, naturally the lid is beach.



I think it could be coconut wood : https://www.wood-database.com/red-palm/


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## Jonathan S

Yep it's not pineapple .....definitely looks like coconut wood....thanks for the update. 



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## sometimewoodworker

Jonathan S":1oecv7w8 said:


> Yep it's not pineapple .....definitely looks like coconut wood....thanks for the update.


That would put it at around a Janka of 1600 – 2200 so harder than oak which is about 1,120. Also with a high silica content, so bad for your tools.

FWIW Wikipedia thinks that it's an OK building material, this directly contradicts the experience of people who have had it used in their houses locally.


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## Jonathan S

Just out of interest....locally do they use this coconut wood for flooring?
It would be hard enough!
Maybe there is a stability problem? 

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## sometimewoodworker

Jonathan S":1lp4y97n said:


> Just out of interest....locally do they use this coconut wood for flooring?
> It would be hard enough!
> Maybe there is a stability problem?
> 
> Sent from my SM-J530F using Tapatalk


No, as I mentioned it's terrible stuff as it rots so quickly, none of the woodyards I've visited stock it, locals may use it in farm shacks. Also the beach bungalows use it as well as bamboo but I think the lifespan isn't long.

It's only in expensive places that wood floors (think termites) are used and if you are going to do that you may as well use better material like a nice hardwood.

Our place uses virtually no wood apart from some doorframes and furniture, it's all concrete and steel because of the termite problem.

This is one of the wood yards where they are OK with you picking through the stock


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## sometimewoodworker

Shop project

I needed more storage in the workshop. So I designed a cabinet with storage units doors. I had bought some very short shelf slides for about £0.50 each set in a Häfele sale without a specific purpose and they were OK though a little short

It is shop furniture so I decided to reverse the doors so the storage is on the outside rather than the inside.

I think the construction is self-explanatory but if more information is needed I'll be happy to provide it.

It is like almost everything and has wheels so if I want to try a different shop layout I have an easy time moving it.






The recess on the top at the back to allow access to the power points when it's against the wall whilst protecting plugs from being knocked out. 









































It can also double as a temporary work surface. It is at a comfortable sitting hight and I may make a more permanent version later


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## sometimewoodworker

More workshop items

I needed to get my WoodRat available for use so made a mount for it that will fit on my French cleat system.


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## sometimewoodworker

A stand for a belt, disk sander


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## Jonathan S

Cool ideas!
I get a lot of pleasure making storage solutions and jigs for the shop!

Jonathan 

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## sometimewoodworker

Storage and location solutions.

I've standardised on a few things in the workshop, the first I'm going to mention is to add French cleats to the walls and other vertical faces. The benefits for me is that when I want to change places where tools and other things are placed it is just a case of ensuring that I have a French cleat in the new location or adding one.












Since the important part of the cleat is the top 45 degree face I've standardised on a relatively narrow rail this makes better use of material. I can do this as the walls are AAC blocks so I can fix virtually anywhere. I have also standardised on Rubberwood as the cleat material as it's reasonably priced and has quite good availability.







I needed a few more of the horizontally supports , this is the style that I've adapted. 































They have got a couple of 20mm holes that can have rods through them like this


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## sometimewoodworker

Having been distracted so away from the forum for a while I forgot that there are quite a few updates.

as a preliminary we gained a member of the family who decided to adopt us




she decided that she was going to obstruct observe The construction of under bed draws.



more to follow soon.


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## sometimewoodworker

Missing videos due to the format of the url changes 

house build



making the bed



Here is one of the security grills I've had a local make to my design and fit.



Also a demonstration of moving a full sheet on to my workbench for cutting



sugar cane burning


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