The Last Post

We finally moved in on 10 December 2006, the same day our daughter left hospital having been born 4 days earlier.The delay in moving was caused entirely by the kitchen fitter not been ready, which in turn was caused by the builder not ordering it in time. Everything else was ready 3 or 4 weeks earlier but despite this long period where the house could/should have been checked we still had problems. Here are some:

The swimming pool was green. Despite assurances from the builder that it wouldn't be when we moved in, it was. It took the pool company 10 days to get it into a usuable condition. I was not impressed. They have billed me for maintenance. It won't be paid.

The drain in the laundry was blocked. The builder couldn't find which pipe it was without tearing up some of our new lawn. They fixed the block but left the garden looking like a building site and left the repairs unpainted. It was another month until the garden and painting were rectified and even now the new grass is struggling to go green.

The sink in the master bathroom was leaking. This was not a small leak there was a good 10cm of water lying on the floor.

The windows and fly screens were not only filthy dirty but they were covered in protective tape. It took an age to clean it off and not for the first time the builder and contractor both denied responsibility. It was one of many jobs that I have ended up doing it myself.

I had mentioned many times that I didnt think the house had been cleaned. When we moved in the mess in the bathroom especially was unbelievable. I showed the builder who called the cleaner back. She turned up with a broom, not a drop of cleaning fluid in sight. Eventually we ended up shelling out THB 5000 having the house cleaned properly.

Someone once told me that Thais are quite capable of doing things to the same high stadards that we might expect in the west, they just don't see the point in doing a good job when an average one will do. This is something I have really struggled with. I could have plastered the walls better, I could certainly have laid the lawn better which currently resembles a cattle field. We are praying it improves come the rainy season. We love our house, we just wish the finish was better.

And so ends this blog, except for a few final pictures that I will post next week.