Pathum Thani building collapse kills at least 3

[PeteC]

Things like this really worry me concerning how building plans are approved, and how construction is supervised.

"PATHUM THANI — A six-storey condominium building under construction in Thanyaburi district collapsed on Monday evening, killing at least three people and injuring 19 others....."

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/4 ... at-least-3

[Khundon1975]

prcscct

Probably cheap concrete (low cement to water ratio) and not enough re-bar. Build it cheap and stack it high seems to be the rule in Thailand, just like a lot of buildings in India and other places.

Anything I have had built in Thailand for the family was over engineered by Thai standards and of course the building costs were higher.

I had a company in UK design the size and amount of re-bar and another company designed the concrete mix for the concrete supplier, especially the water to cement ratio and aggregate/sand sizes and specs and I ensured that the specs were strictly adhered too by the contractor and suppliers and visited site every day to check the re-bar being used and to have slump tests done on each load of concrete before it was poured and test cubes made from the concrete to have them tested at 7 and 28 days for strength.
Never had a failure on Newton tests.
Also tested any concrete poured the previous day by using a "Schmit Hammer Test" as a backup.

Some may think I went a bit OTT, but when I build something, it stays built, and doesn't fall on me or my family.

Most builders in Thailand will cut corners to make extra profit, then disappear, when something goes wrong.
Seeing with my own eyes, how many so called "builders" work in Thailand, to knock up houses, makes me shudder.

[hhfarang]

Also, failure to vibrate the freshly poured cement to get the air bubbles out. Someone warned me of this and I made sure that it was done when my 2 story house was built. The only time I wasn't on site was when the long driveway was poured and it cracked and crumbled fast as there were air bubbles in the poured cement. You could walk along tapping it with the end of a stick and here the hollow sound when a large bubble or cavity was encountered.

[Khundon1975]

Also, failure to vibrate the freshly poured cement to get the air bubbles out. Someone warned me of this and I made sure that it was done when my 2 story house was built. The only time I wasn't on site was when the long driveway was poured and it cracked and crumbled fast as there were air bubbles in the poured cement. You could walk along tapping it with the end of a stick and here the hollow sound when a large bubble or cavity was encountered.

hhfarang

Very true HH, that's because they normally make the concrete in a bath and as wet as soup, so they figure that they don't need to vibrate it.
I watched some so called builders, filling some columns with buckets of this soup and never saw any type of compaction at all! I pity the poor farang who paid for that house.

When we poured concrete on my projects, it was "proper concrete" and I had hired 2 high frequency electric poker vibrators and ensured that they were used on all concrete pours. Also, all the concrete forms for the columns were steel and all the other shuttering was marine ply, with the internal surfaces sealed with polyurethane varnish. Both give a smooth finish. Much better for painting.

The Thais usually use unsealed plywood or that cheap chipboard crap for shuttering and unsealed teak boards for the columns shuttering.
This means that water is sucked out of the concrete surface and into the wood and when you de-mould the concrete the next day, the surface is just dust and you can rub the surface off with your fingers!!!

Also, never saw them wet down and cover the concrete for a few days after removing the shuttering. Essential in any concrete production, as the longer you can keep concrete wet, the stronger it becomes.

Anyone who does not have any building experience and who hires a builder in HH, and then does not visit the build every day, is just wasting their money IMHO. Better still, shell out for a competent project manager, to oversee the building of your dream retirement home.

It seems, that you get what you pay for in Thailand. So if anyone finds a good builder in Hua Hin, (they are out there) either Thai or Farang, then hold onto them. They are worth their weight in gold.