A house in Thailand (part 2)

The spirit houses on a spacious plinth measuring 3,5 by 3,5 meters and over a meter high are a different story. The location of this whole was in the middle of the "gravel" square in front of the house.

I say “get rid of that thing” but that is just a simple remark from a farang because the practice is completely different.
First comment: why does he have to go. Second remark: does Buddha think that is appropriate, third remark: where would he possibly have to come, fourth remark: what will it cost and the fifth remark: let's think about it for a while.

Yes Yes. I think I've tied the bell to the cow so continue with the action. First read in which placement requirements the houses must meet. Well that went well. The old location was with the front on the east, while Buddha likes to have a view to the north, which is possible at the new location and far from toilets and the like, which was a better situation at the new location.

Phon, meanwhile, had inquired with the Chief Monk in our village and she came back with the story that she had to burn a bunch of incense sticks at the new location and if everything burned up then the location was good. There would also have to be a monk when the houses were moved and the locations with the houses had to be blessed. Well, I did make sure all the incense sticks were burned out.
Have a new plinth built, Real half-timbered work with inverted beer bottles as a foundation ??!! but okay he is ready and neat. On a certain day with monks as supervisors and friends and acquaintances from the village for the heavy moving of the houses and tables, everything turned out well. With some food and drinks it made this day another great day.

The old plinth was of course left behind and I demolished it in the following days with the help of my brother-in-law and sister-in-law and with heavy kangos and hiltis. Jeez, what a mountain of sand there was. Nice that sand spread over the irregularities in the forecourt and let the place run slightly towards the gate because of the drainage.

How the points list could be adjusted:

• House clean and painted
• Garden clean and refurbished
• Buddha houses moved and plinth removed

The next action is to replace the brown blind windows and the hardwood frames. A befriended interior builder and aluminum frame builder measured the windows and between the living room and hallway to make sliding doors with glass panels on the side. Great idea and the price was right. So at moment suprême he came up with window frames, glass, sliding doors and a number of employees. Old glass and slats removed from all between beams in the frame and aluminum profiles placed over the hardwood frame beams fit perfectly. 3 windows done 1 with fixed glass and 2 with sliding windows and screens and no more bars. Between the room and the large central hall a glass wall with sliding doors in aluminum profiles. Entirely right. Now the new air conditioner can keep the living room cool better and more economically.

Because we are doing quite a lot of things, we have agreed that we will replace the windows in the rest of the house in phases and so far the situation is that only the kitchen and a guest room still need to be provided with new windows and frames. The various air conditioners have also been replaced, cleaned and new ones installed or moved. We are really happy with it.

Now that the Buddha houses had been moved, the forecourt with the carport on it was nice and spacious and because the forecourt consists of coarse gravel, fine gravel, sand and especially a lot of dust, we decided to pour a concrete floor. Our brother-in-law had a retired uncle who had been a construction worker and he could arrange, stake out and pour. He came and went to measure and drive piles and lay cement dams and place reinforcement and I help nicely. By the way, heavy work mixing cement in a tub. But all went well. However, that best man kept yelling “ouch” at me and I didn't really understand what he had hurt himself with. Upon inquiry with Phon, it turned out that AU meant OKE. Another riddle solved. Ouch!

A number of friends from the village had come to supervise the pouring of the concrete, about 10 men, many concrete trucks, a lot of concrete and a lot of hard and heavy work for dividing and leveling. There were boots and gloves for everyone, but a number still preferred barefoot work in the concrete and they have known it in the weeks that followed really badly burned feet with chemical burns. Alerted YES listening NO. AU. But the floor turned out quite well and all the injured have recovered.

Covering part of the forecourt and connecting it to the carport was the next project. Employees of the town hall helped with what kind of construction it could be and what kind of roofing material would fit best. Worked out the case and purchased material, after which a good acquaintance of ours measured, sawed and welded for a few weekends and installed the roofing with the help of others.

The roof covering consisted of long metal profile plates with the color (brick red) on one side and a heat-inhibiting silver-coloured foil on the other side. Well that turned out to be a miss. I, with the experience I have now with this, I will not recommend it. It has now been 3 years and the water-resistant foil is coming loose everywhere. It is an ugly and messy sight and I will probably close it with drywall in the near future and paint it in a suitable color. The surface of the 'sala' is 9 x 5.50 meters so there is enough space for some tables with chairs and if stage for the music at large parties. And because the sala connects to the forecourt, you have a spacious surface for birthdays, New Year's Eve, weddings and it is also occasionally used by good acquaintances to use for their special occasion if that is difficult in their own environment and it is not too burdensome for us.

Wow quite a lot lately.

Another project was to demolish the large THAI kitchen and create a more Western-looking kitchen with enough space to store all cups, mugs, pans, glasses, supplies and kitchen machines. Bought plates of MDF and made a battery of kitchen cabinets for both below and above. The frames and drawers are neat white and the fronts, yes you guessed it… green. But now post. My wife was seriously apprehensive about the demolition of the old concrete counters and what is wisdom then.

Without luck no one sails and it turned out that we were going to a wedding up north with friends from the village and would all drive all night in a van and then party there on Saturday and then back on Sunday. That trip was not an option for me because sleeping in a minibus with already imbibing partygoers and about the same on the way back was not something I looked forward to and I indicated that I would stay home with the dogs and wish her a lot of fun. Supposedly done.

Taped off the doors of the kitchen and removed the old kitchen with a sledgehammer and chisels. Removed the upright water barriers on the floor and started installing the newly made kitchen cabinets.
People, what a lot of concrete rubble is coming off the old kitchen.

Had little sleep that weekend but the new cabinets above and below were and hung again and the preparations of the counter top were done. Like a double sink and gas stove. But that was quickly arranged the following week. Countertop made of 60 x 60 tiles thickly glued in the kit on thick obs plates. Everything works satisfactorily. The space is further filled with 2 large refrigerators and 1 large freezer.

Submitted by Kees