Thailand = Corrugated iron country
In the world of architecture and design, where glass and steel dominate, Thailand has taken an unexpected turn: corrugated iron. Yes, those ribbed metal sheets, often seen as the underdog of building materials, have revolutionized the Thai construction scene.
Walk through the bustling streets of Bangkok and you'll see them everywhere: corrugated iron shops, food stalls, and even residential houses. “It's like Lego for adults,” jokes Narong, a local shopkeeper. “Except that after building you don't step on a piece and think you're going to die.”
But why corrugated sheets? “They are cheap, easy to find, and you don't need an engineering degree to work with them,” explains Somsak, a resident who built his house from corrugated iron. “Plus, if your neighbor is loud, you can just move your house.”
The trend has even caught the attention of the upper echelons of Thai society. Famous architects, normally obsessed with concrete and glass, are now often seen frowning at a piece of corrugated iron, wondering if they can create the next iconic building with this unassuming material.
But it's not all roses and moonshine. Corrugated sheets have their disadvantages. “In the hot season it's like living in an oven,” says Aom, who lives in a corrugated iron house. “And during the rainy season? It sounds like a rock band is playing on your roof.”
Yet the Thais continue to embrace corrugated sheets. In a country where improvisation and innovation go hand in hand, this unconventional building material proves to be surprisingly versatile. From shady market stalls to artistic installations, corrugated iron is everywhere.
And so, the next time you walk the streets of Thailand and see a seemingly random pile of corrugated iron, think twice. Perhaps it is the future location of a Michelin star restaurant, or better yet, a revolutionary new residential complex. In Thailand, anything seems possible with a few corrugated sheets and a little imagination.
Corrugated iron is not Thailand's. In my working life I have lived and worked in many countries. Especially in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. I have come across corrugated iron as a building material everywhere. But even in the Netherlands. Many sheds in so many backyards of terraced houses have a corrugated iron roof. And I have been told that many corrugated sheets from the 1960s contain asbestos.
As long as you don't cut asbestos-containing corrugated sheets, there is no problem. But it is big business for the asbestos removers. The production of sheets with... asbestos is unhealthy without protection.
Asbestos particles can also be released in air conditioning ducts due to air circulation
no big business in Thailand. The broken plates containing asbestos are just standing on the street.
There are also transparent corrugated sheets for sale in Thailand near Korat
Yes Ries, I have seen them in NonDaeng and the surrounding area, plastic corrugated sheets in different colors. I looked at them to make a rain shelter and block out the sun a bit. But everything is no longer as cheap as it used to be. What happens next?
Although asbestos corrugated sheets, and also asbestos as a material in Europe, are banned in many countries, it is still processed in Thailand.
At the new house roof of our Thai neighbor, I saw the workers simply sawing this carcinogenic product without any protective measures.
When I warned that sawing/processing asbestos was prohibited in Europe due to the dangers, people shrugged their shoulders high and laughed.
Many do not know it, and understand it even less, because it is simply kept quiet.
Since 2001, TH has banned the use of asbestos in a number of specific applications. Given the large annual imports and the many and diverse applications, enforcement is difficult or impossible. This will undoubtedly be of great concern to SCG's largest shareholders. Some spend barely a few days a year in the Kingdom of Smiles.
There is no safe lower limit for asbestos, making a total ban the only sensible option to protect a population against asbestosis. As has rightly happened in the EU.
https://www.asbestos.com/news/2019/07/01/asbestos-lungs-thailand/