ฉันรักการแปลDear Mr. Jartsada (J Art Design),
Thank you for your excellent design work for wife Pranom and me. We have studied your work and very much like what you have done. However, it seems we have asked you to design at a higher level than our wallet will support. Now that we see the estimated price, we would like to back up a bit and have another look at reducing the cost of the kitchen. To that end, I have taken your estimate and made some suggestions on how I think we could possibly reduce the cost. I have attached the four pages and made suggestions on how I think we may be able to reduce cost. If you need to charge us more for recalculation, then tell Ms Om and she will pay.
I think the problem lies in the cost of materials. (1) I had no idea that wood for building cabinets would be so expensive. I hope without resorting to plastic or cheap metal we can find some less expensive but still attractive and resilient material for constructing the cabinets. I have suggested concrete, but possibly there is some other termite resistant material that could work. In the USA people frequently resort to "pressed wood or engineered wood" materials, neither of which we like, except possibly engineered bamboo boards. It is beginning to be common to find bamboo in wood flooring and counter tops here. Bamboo cutting boards are popular here. The bamboo flooring and boards for other uses are manufactured from strips of bamboo pressed together under extreme high pressure and then sawn into boards, etc. It is said to have two very good environmental features, (a) it does not outgas any VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) and so does not endanger the homeowners health, which is very important to Om and me and (b) the bamboo is quick growing and hence is considered a renewable resource. Being in Thailand where bamboo is plentiful, it would seem to be a rather inexpensive alternative for building the "floating" cabinets. (2) I am not sure how much marble costs in Thailand, but in USA it is very expensive. Only very expensive homes use marble for counter tops. I suggested concrete with tile as covering instead of marble. I think that is a very common and inexpensive way to make cabinets (with table tops) that sit on the floor. Our downstairs bathroom there has a concrete cabinet for the sink, with (as I remember) a wooden door. Even though it is a bit rough, it is acceptable and has worked well.
We like the dropped ceiling that we had installed in the kitchen and dining room. It seems to fit in with the motif of the dining room and the kitchen. So if you can, we would like to use your plan, but not have the expense of fashioning a new type ceiling.
Wife Pranom (nick name Om) likes to do things like painting the walls and maybe helping with the mosaic splash panels.
We have a licensed electrician that has done most of the re-wiring for the home, when we did some remodeling two or three years back. He looks after our home when we are not there and we would like to have him do the electrical work. That is why I zeroed (0) out the electrical. We pay him separately.
If we could reduce the cost of the L Shape Counter which is priced at 183,300 Baht, then we could keep some of the small cost items that I have zeroed (0) like the Hanging Glass shelf above the Counter Bar and the Window Awnings, etc. Much of the estimates I have made for the L Shaped Counter and the Floating cabinets are merely guesses and a goal to work toward.
Note that I have left the cost of the Sink, Stove (Cooker) and the Vent in as priced. Also note that there is no line item for plumbing. We have to allocate some money for that.
Om and I am live simply and we are not much impressed by luxury. We mainly want to live comfortably, conveniently, and inexpensively and leave as small a footprint on Mother Earth as possible.
I am looking forward to calling you on your Monday morning. We are 11 hours behind you. So when I call you at around 9:00 AM your time it will be 10:00 PM here.
Om told me your number is +6681 980 4988. I will try to call you on LINE. If that does not work, then I will call your number direct on SKYPE.
If we cannot connect by phone, then we can communicate on email.
Best regards, Arlie Keith