Preparing
the Site
The
property is located on a klong (aka drainage ditch) that flows from the Thai Air
Force Base through Rajabhat and on through downtown Udon. The base was
sited and built by the US for bombing missions during the war in Vietnam.
Back then, Udon was very small. I'm hoping the base was sited with
flooding in mind. Being close will probably ensure that my house doesn't
flood. The good news is that water flows downhill and we're uphill from
most of Udon.
I don't plan any actual construction until next May. But, I want the
dirt to settle for several months so the foundation footing will be on strong
dirt.
So, I decided to raise the level of the land to about 10cm (8in) above the
level of the street just to be sure. I sent an email to my Thai colleagues
and three different dirt hauling companies contacted Nee with bids. She
selected one from Banton (the town where her shop is located). I worked
hard to get the concept of a bid across. Finally I decided that we would
have to do the property marking ourselves. We used the water bottle and
clear plastic tube method of determining the level. I drove steel rods
into the ground and marked the desired level. I was
really
surprised by the depth of the slope. At the back of the property near the
klong it was almost 1.5M!
We
agreed on a fixed price of 52,000B (about $1,250). But, when the dirt
hauling started it became clear that he didn't really understand what I wanted.
I wanted the property to be level right to the edge of the property line and
then sloped off onto the adjacent property. We had already
obtained the agreement of the neighbor to put dirt on their property. Once
the contractor understood what I really wanted the price had to go up (of
course) to 70,000B. However, with the new price in hand they cheerfully
followed my instructions. Sidewalk supervisors, neighbors began to show up
to offer advice. It took two days and over 100 truckloads of dirt to fill
the property.
The contractor invited me to visit the site where he was getting the dirt.
So, I jumped into his pickup truck and
we traveled about 30km outside Udon.
I was happy to see that the dirt was topsoil with good sand content. His
neices and nephews were in charge of handing tickets to the truck drivers.
From what I could tell, most of the drivers and other workers were members of
his extended family.
Back
on the site, things were shaping-up. The tractor driver was really skilled
at using a Ford
tractor with a front blade and rear to do the same things that are usually done
with a grader. The neighborhood kids and dogs showed up to play in the
dirt. Around 5pm on the second day the job was finished. We drank a
few Leo beers and presented the payment. Now comes the easy part:
waiting for the dirt to settle.
|
 |
 |
 |
| King of the mountain |
Nee rests |
The payment presentation ceremony |
Next step: The roof. (The roof?)
