Home Renovations In Thailand! Modern Western Standard? Or Just Settle For What I can Get? 

Hey Chuck, Maybe take a day or two to sit back and think outside the box about your kitchen remodel. Here’s an idea: How about moving the kitchen to the room where you have your parties? It's already air-conditioned, which means your team can work comfortably, and it minimizes the need for extensive demolition. You can keep the existing kitchen operational while the new one is being set up. Having a separate build from where the kitchen is now will not only keep things moving smoothly but also avoid the inconvenience of a makeshift kitchen. I know you don't want to slow down the process, but rushing a job rarely yields the best results. Plus, considering the Thai way with ceremonies and holidays, it's important to factor that into your timeline as well. This way, you can perform the whole remodel separately and ensure a smooth transition without disrupting daily routines. I really enjoy your shows! As one of your close-by builders who has built over ten homes on the island of Kauai, I've found that jumping into a build right away often doesn't turn out as planned. It's always best to take the time to really think it out to get the best results. Just a quick out-of-the-box suggestion. Looking forward to seeing what you decide!

⁠I apologize, my emotions got the better of me. Paige’s family is lucky to have you and all the attention that you give them. Good luck with your kitchen project, I can’t wait to see how it all turns out.

G'day mates, it seems to me that Thailand is using European standard sizing for kitchens. Everything is based upon units of 60cm. Sheets of material come in 120cm width. Asking for anything bigger than 60cm makes it expensive because the waste material cannot be used for anything. Appliances are also made to 60cm widths. If possible, always replace under-cupboard doors and shelves with pull-out drawers.

that tuk tuk had me thinking that you could make mini campers with jealousy windows and solar for cruising round Thailand.

Rectangle light fixture would fit better but the circular would be a better contrast and provide a little more ambience. I used to set up showrooms for the furniture industry and several of them were lighting only. In my opinion at least.

That's a festive shirt, Chuck! I'll have to be on the lookout for one of those here on Okinawa. We had a bit of remodeling done on our home in Korat...learned lessons, for sure! Biggest takeaway was proper roof sealing for external kitchen build. A fun one was explaining the requirement for a dryer vent hole and how the guys would have to bore a hole in their beautiful new wall they'd made, ha. Always good times.

Standard sizes vs. custom cabinets, frustration at times.

Looking forward to watching your process and remodel. We've got to rebuild an outdoor Thai kitchen in the next year or so. Cheers from the swamp.

What about the guy that built Joe & Gift's house for contacts & consultation?

I loved shopping for lights in the different homes I've owned, lights are important, they're the center piece of a room. Great video

Chuck re your bar overhang. Use overhead cabinets as floor cabinets. They are 400-450mm deep.

Wowww! Cannot wait to see the end result 😉 Thanks for sharing Chuck & Paige 🙏🏼

Great video! Getting excited about the renovation! 😊

We have the white Hisense double sided refrigerator and are very happy

It appears to be the norm now that remodeling a kitchen is a massive expense the world over. It is a big expense but it is the most used area of the house and you're not left with lots of choices. It'll get plenty of use with your family there. Bushyboy Oz

I had a kitchen installed in villa in Hua hin. I took pictures and measurements and went to a kitchen designer here. They were Thai, but spoke English. They came and took their own pictures and measurements. Yes it was a bit expensive. But I got everything I wanted. They had to fab the cabinets in Bangkok. It took a month start to finish. All appliances included. $10K USD.

I built a new kitchen and used black cabinets. It looked awesome, however, the black shows every mark and grease splatter no matter how small. Hope it all goes well.

I'm doing much the same with my "farang kitchen" in Udon. When we had our outside kitchen built a few years back we went with the King plastic cabinets, and the bottom cabinets are tiled concrete with King doors. That kitchen was only around 100,000 baht. I'm not overly fond of it, but it is a good, inexpensive, serviceable kitchen that will never be eaten by bugs. 🙂For the new inside kitchen, I did a rough design of what I wanted on my computer and then the Starmark designer at HomePro Udon did the finished design. The cost was around $9000 USD, and having gone through some small remodels in the US, I was fine with the cost here. It's way expensive for here, but comparing it to my US memories, I'm still feeling like I'm getting more for less. One of the things helping me with my kitchen is I want to be happy in my kitchen for however many years I have left to play around in the kitchen. It's going to get used almost every day (since I don't travel as much as you do), and I don't want to be walking into it thinking 'Oh I wish I'd done this', or 'I wish I hadn't compromised on that'. I figure I'm doing this kitchen once, so I better be happy with how it is the one time I'm doing it. 🙂 Oh, and our builders installed the window frame 10cm to the right of where it's supposed to be, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to pay extra to have them move it to where the window cutout is supposed to be, to be centered over the kitchen sink. I know you've been here for years, so I know you'll expect those sorts of hiccups in the process. I just keep reminding myself the construction phase is temporary, and I'll have years to enjoy the finished product.

dad has a great shop.....

Layout drawing looked great. I think darker cabinets is better than white. We had white before and tend to get marks/dings that you cant get clean. We are driving thru your neck of the woods mid August

epoxy/100 solids will turn yellow from the UV in the sun light.

Great show Chuck! 😊 it will all work out. Take care and as alway's stay cool 😎 kind and generous.

I was one of those who unsubscribed during COVID, you may have said something i didn't agree with ( i can't remember now) Anyhow, im back now and I occasionally get mildly pissed off, but not enough to flounce. Keep doing what you do, enjoyed koh Chang and look forward to the renovations.

"I need a beer" LMAO! I agree, perfect time to have one Chuck!

Don’t do epoxy. Do polyurea instead. More complicated to install but infinitely more durable and longer lasting.

Hello Chuck & Paige! Sounds frustrating, good luck! Compared to US pricing, what you showed on the video is a STEAL! You're a tough negotiator Chuck! Hahahahahaha! Have a beer Chuck cures all ailments. Continued good fortune, health and safety.

👍🙂that will look very cool

I just love when Paige just looks over and smiles as if to say ‘Yeah, yeah…’ 🙈😁

Hello thanks for taking up along on this adventure / project Can’t wait to see how it turns out

Hello Chuck and Paige. Awesome video! Keep in mind that the granite slab size is 292cmx190cm. You can keep the cabinet size that they offer to you and do the overhand in the granite.

Those Tuk Tuks looked awesome Chuck

We used Home Pro with Kitzcho Cabs,, the design team was very accomodating with the layout as I wanted and customizing the sizes after the design layout, they come out to the house to do all the final measurements the Install team was fantastic and the entire project was a breeze

Good idea about your fridge moving to the outer end of kitchen. Best designs have fridges to the edge or entry to kitchen, because people go to the fridge all the time while people cook in kitchen. So if it's on outer edge of kitchen your not getting in way of the cooks "mafia" etc, it's usually placed on the outer edge/entry because it's the kids that go to the fridge, without walking through the working kitchen.

Just had our kitchen made from Kitzcho Udon Thani from Khon Kean

Love that shirt Chuck xxxx

I can’t wait to see the progress many blessings from North Texas ❤

Cheers guys, 🙂

Before I left the states the “newest” thing was concrete countertops… then they would use epoxy paint and they made some incredible looking countertops… cheap price.. easy to do.. very durable… look on the bright side… to re do a kitchen in the US your looking at 100k plus USD….

Hi hope you're find a good way to do the kitchen

Kitchen design looks great!!! So open and modern!!! Going to add value to the place!!!!! Well done Good choice to do it, as I was a bit skeptical at first, but looks heaps good!

Your kitchen plan looks really nice. Nice video. Thanks and take care.

I am so excited for this, I love renovation videos

Interesting - I am in the middle of updating a Thai home (including a kitchen).|--- --- Similarly, for me, it is a compromise between Western style and what is available in Thailand, (unless we build total custom) - Our home was in very bad shape. _ The GF's mother is old and the house had years of deferred maintenance.

Maybe you should try a place where they sale hotel kitchens.

Keep it Thai style Chuck they may not appreciate your Western perspective on it. Still, fun to do. Thanks guys.

You need a good beer chuck

You need to put a corner cabinet in that space…

Hi guys ❤ would a stainless steel laundry trough be more handy for your outdoor kitchen. We used one in our shed house on our hobby farm. Much bigger and deeper for big jobs and more useful. Can get various shapes and sizes. xxoo

Just curious but what wood do they use for making cabinets there?

The first thing I noticed is that Paige’s family (and you guys) sit at the small table in the kitchen to eat….where will you do that in the future?

Good morning

G'day guys, getting a quote from homepro is like getting a quote from bunnings in Australia or Walmart in the USA, you're getting a higher end price. Try local tradesmen, it'll be half the price. Also pissed myself when I saw the ute with 6 bikes in it😂😂first time for everything

If you don’t watch them at ALL times they will build it how they want to, not how you want it so be careful!

I want, I want, ever thought what the owner of the house might actually want and think of you coming in and pulling their home apart to suit your American ways, the Thais were probably more than happy with the way of life they were living until you took over there life's.. you should be buying your own home rather than using there home as a stop over between all you hotel accommodation.

WOW!! exactly what I moved away from. Have some respect for thais. They don’t want, need, or desire to live in air conditioned ‘American’ comfort. They don’t want that kind of stuff. Keep it Simple.