Enough talent here to create a construction firm (two not in the country yet) who, without doubt, could build high quality homes. Hope members get a discount.

 

Hey Dave, your pics tell a lot of what is not right. Firstly, concrete is made of sand, cement and coarse aggregate (crushed rock or stone), usually not bigger than 19mm. Never rounded river stones of that size for structural work. The angularity of the aggregate plays a significant part in the binding of the sand and cement which fill in the voids between the aggregate. There are specific mix proportions to attain the compressive strength of the concrete. Normally 30 Mpa (Mega pascals) for columns (not pillars) and beams. Very important to the strength of concrete, is the amount of water used. This is a water cement ratio that should be closely adhered to, as excess water leads to excessive shrinkage and cracking as the concrete cures. There are very good additives for concrete that increase work-ability of the mix while adding strength. I used this for concrete counter tops recently and it was great.
I agree with you completely about using a vibrator, anyone doing a reasonable amount of concrete work should buy one, they are not very expensive.
I do not agree with you about pouring columns and beams together. You just leave a bit of the column reinforcement above the level the column concrete is cast to, (usually underside of beam), to be bent over later and tied to the beam reinforcement. Also, generally they bucket the concrete up to pour it into the forms, so filling 2.7 M (9 ft) is not an issue, as it will get snagged on the way down on the reo. You are correct to say it should not be dropped more than 1.5 M, but that really relates to pouring a slab. Like we said, vibrating the concrete is important to get rid of the air pocket and voids around the reo.
About 5,000 Pesos

 

No sir, not long winded at all, mind you I guess I am a little biased as you agree with much of what I have said before.

Now I want to ask you a question, understand that the building medium here is mostly CHB and I think it is the worst product ever to build with and no better than Lego block with a flour and water glue, also I would add that the average PSI of such buildings can be no better than 500 at a very wild guess. But the question is; what is your opinion of this method and does it have any real merit?

 

How did you get on with your wall mate?

 

Hey Dave, I take it CHB is cinder hollow-core blocks. Correct? In that case, yes pretty useless, but in terms of masonry, there aren't too many alternatives. They use them for about 95% of construction here too, one of the reasons I have gone for steel frame. The blocks, catch pits, and other so called concrete products have an empty cement bag waved over the mix hoping there is a little left to give it a gray colour! They crumble very easily. I think they rely on the thick bed of mortar and a bit of infill in the holes to give it strength. I would certainly not rely on them for too much load bearing, that is why generally, the roof steel work is fixed to the concrete columns with a bit of a tack weld. The other problem of course is that the act like sponges and because generally, there is no damp proof course to stop the rising damp.
I am writing a bit of a building guide to try to help people avoid the pitfalls.

 

Welcome Onearm, what part of Thailand are you in and what brings you to this forum, thinking of relocating?

 

There are some competent builders in Dumaguete, both foreign and domestic. If you have experience with one, post a recommendation, as we do with doctors and dentists. No need to post negatives by name.