Monday, April 2, 2012

#Kerala House Construction-Replies to your queries

HOUSE CONSTRUCTION IN BANGALORE

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Hello Mr. Thomas,

I'm Ananth from Bangalore. I was going through the blogs and some of the work you have executed. Its very very impressive. Congratulations to you and your team.

I'm planning to construct a house in Bangalore. Wanted to know if you take up projects here in Bangalore and have a team that can execute it. If you don't, then any referrals will be of great help.

My reply

When thinking  of building your house,first thing people worry about is getting a contractor to build the house with lowest square feet rate. Nobody understands the importance of getting most appropriate plan for the building from the  best Architect one can find.

Most people think that plan drawn by any one for a house will be same.Most appropriate design capability comes not only from right qualifications but mainly from years of experience in designing and building houses.Right plan can save you lakhs of money as well as provide you better facilities with no wastage of built up space.This plus point of a plan will be known to a non professional only after the building construction is over.

Many people have no concept of space inside a room.They unnecessarily ask for larger dimensions of room without knowing that more than the dimensions appropriate spacing of doors,windows and other arrangements give you better space for use in a room.

Several people have called me to do something to improve utility of space in the building after completion of structure of building.At plan stage they could not understand waste of space caused by wrong or inferior design.But no Architect or Engineer can do anything about improper design after completion of structure of building

In house construction,most critical part is to get the best design for the house.Here again some people think that Elevation is the only important part.Elevation comes from plan.Without a proper plan,no one can get a good Elevation.

Please understand that no two contractor do house construction in the same manner.Then how can you compare cost quoted by one contractor with that of another?Owner of the house who bargains for lower square feet cost actually bargains and earn lower quality of construction and insufficient structural stability of the building.No contractor is going to absorb cost increases to his account.He will compromise on quality of construction and structural stability of building to keep his profit in tact when cost of inputs of construction increases as house owner will insist on paying only agreed rates.Contractor may also ask for extras and may even cheat client by asking payment for inflated or exaggerated area of construction.

In short,in house construction first get best design and then look for a contractor willing to work with design drawings of a professional strictly following his instructions on every aspect of construction.


CLAY ROOF TILE LAYING

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Hi Thomas,
thank you for sharing your knowledge via blog.  read your suggestion
to lay clay tiles on top of the flat roof to reduce heat.

http://kerala-houseconstruction-vyttila.blogspot.com/2008/11/clay-tile-laying-on-flat-roof.html

kindly send me the contact details of the factory who can deliver the
tiles and complete the paving.

regards,
Ravi

My reply

Kapindia tiles at Trichur is no more manufacturing clay tiles for flat roof due to non availability of raw material,clay

So you will have to locate clay tiles available nearer to your location

REDOING FLOOR

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Anonymous   has left a new comment on your post "Flooring for house-options":

Hi sir,
your blog is so informative...
in my home, we used mosaic for flooring, after 2-3 years the chips starts coming out and the borders of the tiles become dirt accumulated and become ugly. currently we are planning to re-floor, what material u will suggest as it mainly happens in the drawing room and living room. Also do we need to remove the existing flooring prior to re-flooring, as many of my friends suggests that need not have to done... awaiting your reply

My reply

You can lay new flooring on top of existing floor without removing existing floor by laying tiles with tile adhesive available with almost all tile shops

You can lay tiles like Naturoc tiles of NITCO or similar quality tiles of other manufacturers which are lower in cost with better surface finish and pleasing shades.Better lay tiles in consultation with an Architect for better selection of tiles and proper laying

WATER SUMP TANK

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Dear Mr. Thomas,

Saw your site. Interested in installing a tank with new pump, pipe line & v/vs etc for use as water sump.

Location:    Kadavanthra,Kochi.   For 2 storey house.

Can you give options  with cost estimate ?

Regards, PGK Nair

My reply

Some one from our side will have to visit your site to give options and Estimate.Call me on mobile 9388701702

LAND TERMED AS PADDY FILED IN DOCUMENTS

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Respected Sir,

We purchased a land with the area of 5.37 cents on 2007 at  Karamana , Trivandrum.  We came to know that this plot was mentioned as 'Nilam' in Thandaperu record at village office. so the corporation is not ready to give permission for construction. whereas all the nearby plots had been already constructed. How to get the permission? we also heard that government had recently declared an order that land with minimum like 5 or 6 cents 'nilam' plot can be given approval. but we could not trace the government order reference of such record. Due to the word' nilam' we are suffering like any thing. kindly advise us?  If possible , could you know the reference of that Government order.

what should we do?

will you please render your suggestions on this?

we are in complete dark and have been struggling for past 2 years.

can we get any other contact details?

My reply

In a similar case one of my clients has  approached concerned Panchayath for Building permit.As the document of the land has indicated as Nilam the application was referred to Nilam committee consisting of Agricultural officer and Tahsildar concerned.They have inspected the land  and found that the land referred is no more agricultural land and given sanction for constructing house

You can adopt similar procedure

ESTIMATE OF BUILDING CONSTRUCTION

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sir,
I would like to build a home in Aleppey in 13 cents.My requirements are:
Ground floor:
sit out,Hall,2bedrooms,1 bathroom,Kitchen+Work area
First Floor:
1 bedroom (bath attached),A balcony.
Sir my budget is 15 lakhs.can u please estimate the cost.Hope your valuable comments

My reply

I get similar mails quite often.See, he has a fixed budget of Rs.15 lakhs.If you tell this to a qualified experienced Architect he will design a house which may cost around Rs.15 lakhs.Trouble is that even though his limited budget is Rs.15 lakhs,client may not be willing to restrict his requirements to  cost not more than Rs.15 lakhs

Building construction involves hundreds of materials and different type of labour.Some of these materials and most of the types of labour are fast turning out to be difficult to get.Cost of almost all materials and labour are going up everyday

No Architect can correctly predict cost of building your house which may get completed after an year or more.Any day during construction,if not you then contractor will have to buy materials like cement and steel at rates prevailing on that date.If you do not give increase in cost consideration to the contractor,he will naturally reduce use of materials to save his profit.Can you blame him for that?.Structural stability of your building will get compromised to that extent.

Even to have an approximate cost indication there has to be at least a plan of the building designed to suit your needs and site conditions.Even without that how do you expect me to predict cost?

RESORT PROJECT AT WAYANADU

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Hello Thomas,

Thanks you for the fast response. I am quite impressed that you are
making good use of social media and technology.

I have the following concerns with regards to my project:

1. How soon can you go for the site visit.

2. My idea is to develop a vacation home /  resort project.

3. The total area is around 1.25 acres, my plan is to build 12
cottages in 5 cents land each.

4. I'd like a rough costing after your site visit.

5. I have attached a few photos to give you an idea about what I'd like.

Jamshid

My reply

A resort Project can be planned only after a careful study of possible location and surroundings by  an experienced Architect with vision and talent.

Architect will have to visulaise the project in all its aspects.Of course you may be more eager to know cost.But an Architect need to do lot of home work for the project before any meaningful indication of cost can be done.

A project of this nature also has to be evaluated on a commercial angle about how far the project is economically viable to give you attractive return for your investment

Of course Tourist business can generate attractive income for resort cottages when run as a hospitality business with all necessary amenities

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