[Cob] Cob in Thailand and forget those Building Codes!

[joe r dupont]

WHAT ABOUT TENNESSEEE.. THERE ARE COUNTIES WITH NO BUILDING PERMITS. 
On Sat, 19 May 2007 12:11:20 +0700 Stephen Karrington
<sales at diamondcard.us> writes:
> > Is land *that* much cheaper in upstate NY?  It's not like Oregon 
> will break
> > the bank compared to prime areas like the coasts or FL.  What kind 
> of 
> > differences are you seeing in price?
> > Besides cold winters, the summers in NY can be brutally hot and 
> humid.  I
> > have no idea why anybody from OR would beg for that pain unless 
> for a job.
> > At least in OR you get a milder winter, and the heat is dry in 
> summer.
> > Just wonderin'.
> > p
> 
> If you want cheap conditions for building your cob home try 
> thinking
> internationally. I am in Thailand now and "mud building" is now
> starting to take off. Its still in the infancy but has nowhere to
> go but up. I just came across one company that is now in the 
> business
> of building "mud" homes for private people here in Thailand. They 
> have
> two projects going on right now. They call adobe or cob building 
> "mud
> building" here for the most part.
> 
> If I may list some positives of being in Thailand :) Its summer 
> every
> day. That's 12 months out of every year :) It has the best food in 
> the
> world. Not that I think the coblist would be filled with 
> materialistic consumers,
> but, it has the best shopping on the planet and its CHEAP CHEAP 
> CHEAP!
> That means clothing, and just about everything else you can 
> imagine.
> For example, I just bought a designer short sleeve shirt here and 
> it
> cost me $8. That's cheaper than I could buy a t-shirt in the USA.
> Ok, maye you don't think that's a positive, but, I listed it anyway 
> for you
> consumers out there looking for bargains.
> 
> They have mountains here in the North and all kinds of islands in 
> the
> South. Beaches, mountains, parks, etc.
> 
> If you want something custom designed, like furniture, clothing,
> fabrics, clay pottery, whatever, they can do it here. The artisanry 
> of
> the people are fantastic. Silks, cottons, hemp, etc is all here and 
> in
> every possible conbination and design. You can just go to a 
> mountain
> village or small town where they make these things and get someone 
> to
> loom it for you. Just incredible.
> 
> Labor! If you need some help with those cob walls because you want 
> to
> get things done a little faster, then hire some local villagers. 
> About
> $10-$15 a day. And that might be overpaying. The local villagers 
> are
> out of work and anything that provides income is welcome. Those
> prices are reasonable and affordable. A big difference than 
> Colorado
> where a gardener wants $50/hr to weed and plant. And that was the
> price 10 years ago. Talk about inflation!
> 
> Oh yes, you can get a full time cook for about $100 or $150/mth, 
> full time
> gardener for the same amount, full time house cleaner for less too. 
> Come to Thailand
> and live like a king!!! :)
> 
> They have hundreds of herbs, flowers, and all kinds of natural
> cosmetics derived from the lovely nature of Thailand. Really nice
> stuff!
> 
> Land. It can be ridiculously cheap when you get out of the cities.
> That's the good news, the bad news is a foreignor cannot buy land
> directly. Its complicated to get into it but there are ways to do 
> it.
> I suggest an easier way like a long term lease that will go way 
> past
> your lifetime or get into a community project here as possibilities. 
> There are
> some communities already existing here and I'm sure more will show 
> up.
> 
> Buildinng codes. If you are building outside of the cities there 
> are
> no building codes! Build what you want, how you want, and not have 
> to
> ask anyone anything about permission. I don't even think they have
> building codes in the big cities :) Except for the skyscrapers in
> Bangkok, people build where they want, what they want, how they 
> want
> and that's that. No one asks questions. Its a little crazy
> how they build these houses here in Bangkok when the walls look like 
> some drunk
> did them because they are completely cockeyed. And the plumbing is
> just a pipe that goes to the street or some hole in the ground. Its
> nuts. If you want no building codes to deal with and get outside of 
> the
> big cities into beautiful nature, then Thailand might be for you.
> 
> If Thailand is not your thing may I suggest Chile! That's my next
> stop and a report will be forthcoming. I know these places seem far
> away but sometimes farther is better :)
> 
> Stephen
> 
> 
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