Once the roofing crew had done most of their job, with only the finishing touches to do, the blocklaying gang started. And they started in earnest, with about 10 people on the job on the first day. 4 sections of wall going up at a time, somebody mixing the special mortar used for AAC blocks, somebody cutting the odd sizes needed in places, another young guy carrying blocks from the palette to where the work was and a foreman trying to keep check on everything. In fact they were getting in each other’s way, to say nothing of tripping over all the electrical cords everywhere!

The next day it was down to 6 people but the walls were still going up quickly, one of the advantages of using the AAC blocks over old fashioned bricks or cement blocks. Another of course being the much better thermal efficiency of AAC.

Sometimes the work went a bit too quickly, as they forgot to leave a back door to the kitchen ! Luckily I spotted that before they got too far along and they only had to take off a few blocks which hadn’t set in place yet anyway.

They also missed leaving 3 small windows in the bathroom and gym room. They said that they were going to come back and cut them out later, as it was easy to do. But then they did do the same small windows in the laundry and storage room, so I don’t know whether they did forget them or always planned to come back later.

A week later it looked like this:

And inside:

And after another couple of days the plasterers turned up :

If there is one thing that Thai builders can do well, it would be the rendering. These guys were getting perfectly straight corners and windows without using edge beading, just their hand tools.

First part of the electrical had also started with some of the conduit channels cut out, but then that worker went AWOL before finishing the job. So the plasterers just rendered over where conduits were supposed to be. Again, mai pen rai, don’t worry can come back and do later.

By day 76 most of the house interior had been rendered, apart from some of the columns.

The next progress payment was due to be paid when the walls were completed, and the builder was hoping that would be before Songkran, which is the traditional Thai New Year and a long holiday where the country just about stops for 5 or 6 days. They didn’t make it though so work stopped with a few columns still to be rendered and those windows still to be cut out.

The builder did ask for the payment but the wife played hardball and said no, not until you have finished all the wall work, and done the small roofing jobs that he promised would get fixed soon when we gave him the the roofing payment.

Money talks, even the promise of money, and right after Songkran the roofers were back to finish fitting the last small pieces of fascia and the plasterers to render the last columns.

OK, now you can have your money. 😊