Initial landscaping phase complete

We completed the excavation of the lake over a month ago and since then, nature has been doing its part in filling it up!  The lake has been filling up a lot more quickly than one might imagine as the surrounding land has also been draining into the lake through the top metre of porous soil.    The lake will fill up by another two metres before it reaches the limit of the clay soil that retains the water…. certainly, by the end of the rainy season it will be full to its natural level.   

Once this level has been established we will carry out some more re-sculpting of the edge of the lake to add a path way just above the water line.    In terms of the rest of the land, the excavation of the lake was enough to raise the level of the rest of the land by about one metre.  We will allow this land to settle for some time and then we will add another layer of top soil that is more suited for planting.  There is another area of the land where the house is to be situated that will be raised up by another meter or more, in places.   However, this will be raised closer to the time the home is built, once the design is finalised.

In the mean time, we will be planting about 40 saplings to add to the 35 mature trees already growing on the plot.   We will also be transplanting a number of additional mature trees on to the land.

Roofing complete, additional sub-projects underway

We have completed the roof tiling for this interesting project in Sangkhom.   We are now adding the typically Thai decorative detail and facias to the roof sections.

We have also completed the roofing of the 'cottage' which actually houses caretaker's accommodation as well as parking.   The next stage is to add the timber cladding and rendering that will give it the appearance of an Elizabethan timber framed wattle and daub cottage.  The timber framed windows will also be added shortly.

The two buildings on this project sit on a plot of about 4 acres and we are undertaking a number of other works on the land.  One such project is the construction of a spill way for a large drain that runs underneath the land taking water run off from the hills behind the property to the Mekong river.  

We also installed another drain and spill way that will handle surface water drainage on parts of the land as well as the roof run-off from the house itself.

We constructed a terrace that is located on the river bank, just out of sight of the main house.   Being on the river bank it was necessary to build the terrace on piles, as with the spill way.

There arer a number of other sub-projects on the plot of land, but I shall save those for a later post.

An island is born...

We have been a little hampered by heavy rain recently, but the future lake on this project is slowly growing in size. We have now created what is soon to be an island within the lake, once filled with water. We shall be transplanting some additional mature trees on to the island before the water rises, and there is also a lot more excavation to be done.

Breaking ground and earthmoving

We have recently begun work on a new large scale project.   We will be building a home on a plot of land of just over 11.5 Rai (4.6 acres) in area.   We have not yet finalised the design, though have established the 'footprint' of the home and have a high-level plan for the land and landscaping.  The plot of land was previously used for rice farming and requires significant re-sculpting in order fit in with the design we are working on.   It is desirable to raise the height of the land to various levels.  We are digging a large ornamental lake of about 1.5 rai in order to provide the soil to fill the rest of the land.   The lake itself will be 10 metres deep and feature a large island.  The land is being filled up in layers of about half metre depth, stepping up to two metres in places.

Currently, we have completed about 30% of the lake excavation.  We intend to have it completed by mid June. Finalising the design of the home and landscaping, however, will take several more months.  This will be a long project with many interesting challenges and intend to blog about progress as we move forward.

Welcome to our new home on the web...

NKD, or Nong Khai Design Co., Ltd, has been growing steadily since its formation in early 2009.  We have been expanding our workforce and also the services that we offer.   We have also been steadily expanding our geographical coverage.  Whilst it used to be that most of our work was conducted in and around Nong Khai town, this is no longer the case, with the majority of our projects being further afield in other districts, provinces and countries. It is because of our much larger geographical coverage, that we have decided to take the "Nong Khai" out of our web address.  Our clients and suppliers have known us simply as NKD for a long time, and so we also felt it was time for a change of web address that reflected that, too.

Despite our change of website and our rebranding, we are still the same company employing the same great people, helping to make people to realise their dream homes. Whilst our head office is still in Nong Khai, other regional offices will be opening in the near future.

Anyone who had been following along with our blog on www.nongkhaidesign.com will have no doubt been wondering why there has not been many updates recently.   With so many new and ongoing projects and with our major company re-structuring and re-branding, we had to put our company blog on hold.  However, with the transition complete, regular blog updates will continue here.   You can also find all of the blog posts from our old site right here on NKD House .com.