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Unless you want to rent or buy an already built shop
unit or resort you're going to require the services of an architect and
local builder at some stage. But as you can probably imagine you wont
find many architects on Koh Chang or builders who have offices of any kind
or signs hanging outside their house saying that a builder lives there.
It's still all done by word of mouth.
There are a couple of 'real' architects working
on the island. The largest firm is Koh Chan gEngineering which
includes a firm of architects that was formerly known as Grow Architect & Engineering Co' who have
an office in the Klong Prao area. They seem to specialise in plans for
large hotels and resorts etc and are involved in many of the larger or good
quality development son the island. Fees for design work range from
vary from around 3 - 6 % of the project value.
An alternative and more
common way to get your plans sorted out is to get someone in the local
planning department to draw them up for you. This is cheaper, but not
cheap, however it does guarantee that your plans will be approved without
any problems. And so it
should, as the people approving them drew them.
The main costs
in getting plans drawn are the payments to two certified engineers to
say that the plans are structurally sound and there would be no problems
constructing the building on this particular land. You'd think that
this would require the engineer to visit the land, it doesn't. All it
requires is for the engineer to be paid about 10,000 baht. If you are
building a resort of any kind then the plans have to be sent to the mainland
for higher level approval and so it takes around 6 weeks or so before you
can start building. If you're building something smaller - a
restaurant or house for example then it's far easier to obtain planning
permission. In fact many locals who are putting up a small shop or
restaurant only bother to submit plans after they have built
something.
Obviously if
you are planning something large scale you'll have to pay off a whole host
of people from various agencies involved in running the island, everyone
will want their cut.
With your plans in your hand it's time to find a
builder. Recommendations and stopping to speak to builders you see
working as you go around the island are the best way to find them. Be
wary of builders who find you . . . there are at least a couple of guys who speak
good enough English to be able to explain they are builders and have built
houses, resorts and the like for other foreigners on Koh Chang and will give you a
good price etc etc. It's easy to go with these guys as they genuinely
have done a lot of work and are comparatively easy to deal with. But they tend to be more expensive as they operate
more as agents than actual builders themselves. They get the job and
then subcontract the work. By hiring an agent
you're unknowingly adding 10 - 15% onto the cost.
The cost of labour is usually quoted at
anything from 800 baht/square metre upwards. It could be more depending on the amount
and standard of decoration you require. If you're building bungalows then
more often than not you can discard the balcony area from any calculations -
it all depends on your haggling skills. As a quick guide you can
reckon on a builder getting paid 250 baht/day, unless they're illegal Cambodian
workers in which case it'd be less. The foreman, the guy you'll be
dealing with, will be on about 400 - 500 baht/day. Four or five
workers should be able to build a basic wood or concrete bungalow within 10
days. Certain builders are jacks of all trades others tend to
concentrate in either mainly working in concrete or wood.
A couple of
guys we dealt with in 2005-06 and are OK are Chang Joy ( 'chang'
means builder in Thai, it also means elephant but that's a different Thai
spelling) if you're looking to build with concrete. He has done a lot
of work around White Sand beach. Try Chang Nut if wooden bungalows are
what you're looking for. This guy knows his wood, what types to use to
save money, when not to skimp and can also help with ideas during the design
process. He is usually found around Nature Beach resort, they'll know
where he is if he's not there.
The guy who
did most of the work on our house is Leung Chai. He's spent the last 20+ years building all manner of
things around Thailand and is an easy guy to work with. He's flexible
and it isn't all down to money with him, he's happy to do things the way you
want them done - even if that involves extra work for no extra money.
He also has more than enough experience to creatively overcome any
unforeseen problems that appear during building process without resorting to
expensive fixes or simply claiming that it can't be done. But I
wouldn't use him if I wanted a job doing to a good, western standard.
Building
supplies can be bought at four shops on the west coast of the island, one
in Klong Son, one just past the northern end of Klong Prao beach, the
third in Klong Prao village and another place about 400 metres north of the
Amari Resort at the southern end of Klong Prao beach. Shop around as
prices vary, pretty soon you'll figure out which is the best place for wood,
which for concrete and sand, which for paint etc etc. Shops on the
mainland are usually a similar price to those on Koh Chang but if you're
building a resort or something large scale you will save a lot by ordering
wood, concrete supports etc direct from mainland suppliers in Trat and Klang,
enroute to Chantaburi.
For
decorative items such as tiles, bathroom fittings, light fittings, handles
etc it's better to head off to civilization e.g Chantaburi, Rayong, Pattaya
or Bangkok as the choice on Koh Chang is pretty poor.
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