Elevation for house at Maramon

This house is  going to face main road and  the land available is about an acre.I have suggested house to be built behind leaving lot more space near the road for possible future construction for commercial purpose

The house even though for  a USA based NRI,is being built with traditional Kerala Architecture features.You can see the picture and make your own judgment

It has Poomukham,Chuttu verandah and Nadumuttom all traditional features.One bed room at Ground Level and two more at First Floor with living room for guests and larger family living room for members of family at Ground level

Again on square feet cost of construction

Even though I have written about meaningless nature of the term square feet cost of construction several times,I still get queries  asking me about square feet cost

Without any data, without studying site conditions, without at least a Basic Plan, how anyone can simply predict cost of the building?

Constructing a house is not like going and buying something from the market. Even in such a case you cannot tell what will be the cost of 1 Kg rice after an year. Even if you start construction immediately, it may take about an year or more for the building to get completed

If someone has told you that there is a fixed square feet cost of construction anywhere in Kerala, you have to understand that it is a lie.

Even flat sellers who have every parameters of building in their choice and discretion keep increasing price from beginning to completion stage gradually

Term square feet cost is coined by nonprofessional contractors simply to get unsuspecting client to start work with them .After the client starts with them they know how to get increases and revisions in cost and by the time project reaches finishing stage, client will be simply anxious to complete the work and at that time he might have become wiser to know that the so called square feet cost has no meaning. I have built more than 200 houses directly in Kerala and designed much more. Each of these houses when completed have different square feet cost. So I simply do not understand the meaning of this ridiculous prediction of cost.

After the plan is finalised  a professional agency can prepare an engineering estimate for structural work and after the structure is completed an estimate for balance work can be prepared

These are more reliable cost indicators as costing is done using Engineering methods.

How I go about designing a house

Every Architect operate in different method or style.In additional to formal training an Architect just like any other creative artist,require creative talent and lots and lots of  commonsense.

When someone approaches me for design of the house I need to hear from him what exactly he is looking for in the house, his limitations , expectations,dreams on the house

After this I have to see the plot,obtain outer measurements of all four sides,directions of each side and position of road access to plot

I may take few days or more to visualise the house suitable for that plot in my mind.Only after the design is clear in my mind, I sit in front of the computer to draw the Basic Plan of the building which gives dimensions and positions of each room or living space and doors and windows only.While designing the house I consider structural engineering aspects and Vasthu aspects also to keep structural cost of the building low and to have peace and prosperity as per Vasthu for those who are going to live in the house.

I do not draw the plan fully.I draw only the outline.My assistants take on  where I leave the work to complete the design and they work on one of the possible elevations for the building later if the client ask for it.

I prefer to do Elevation of the house slowly as the work progresses at site giving me time to think and work out best elevation suited to the building, location and also one which will satisfy  and please my mind.

In the process I may go to uncommon or nonstandard appearance for the building giving more value in appearance for the building rather than the usual techniques based elevation my assistant might have drawn simply to make client happy.A creative work need time, patience and a mind to think and dream differently

But most customers think that Architect can make picture of the house in no time.He can but that cannot be something extra ordinary.Extra ordinary work require time, dreaming and above all a creative mind.

After structure work,how to proceed

When you build your house,after the brick work,concreting,fixing of door window frames and plastering,you tend to think that major part of house building process is over.But the fact is that major part of the house building process which require more money,time, efforts,careful decisions are all pending now.

Some people think that Architect/Engineer is not required after the structure is ready.You need him more now to give guidance and advice on every step forward.There are options plenty for every item of work and technology changes bring more options almost every day.Your Architect will be quite conversant with the latest technology and trends because the suppliers and service providers will be educating him continuously on technology changes,new methods and trends.

First thing you have to do is to get the Electrical cutting done on walls for switch boards,light points,power points,main switch boards for each floor of the building,main switch board for the house,Meter board for the house etc.As internet and telephone can be wire free you do not have to worry about them except if you are particular about having old fashioned telephone with wires.In such case,you will have to plan telephone wires to wherever you need it in the house.

Your Architect will be the best person to guide you in planning electrical wiring.You will have to tell him what exactly you need, ask him what are the options available to you and together you can discuss and finalise what you need before the Electrician can start cutting your brick walls to lay pipes to carry Electrical wires.

Once plastering is over,you can start plumbing work.Here again you will have to discuss in detail what you want with the Architect and find out from him options available for you.It is better to visit sanitary shop or still better display centers of sanitary suppliers to find out what exactly is available and how much each option will cost.Make sure that your Plumber and Electrician are quite knowledgeable about latest technology in the field.I have seen in many places especially interior locations where the local Plumber/Electrician will still be operating with technology he was handling when he started the work.When you show him the latest equipments and systems he will simply tell that it will not work or it will create problems later.The real truth is that he is simply trying to hide his ignorance.In interior locations,I have noticed that Plumber and Electrician tend to be one single person without a team to support and work for him.Whatever that single person feels comfortable to do is what the house owner ultimately gets as house owner in general is reluctant to have a more knowledgeable team to handle the work for fear of displeasing the neighborhood Plumber cum Electrician.Professional agencies do not handle both plumbing and Electrical work together.They do either of the job and not both

Once these processes of initial work of Electrician and plumber are over,you will have to think about putty work for both interior and exterior walls prior to painting.I will write about it later.

Less than 2000 sft single floor house with four bed rooms

I have written earlier about less than 2000 sft plinth area four bed room two storey house with all bed rooms attached with toilet.This design along with less than 2000 sft four bed room single floor house design suitable for rural areas where land is not a constraint is now ready with me.

This design has two bed rooms with attached dress and toilet.Another two bed rooms which share common toilet very near(almost attached).Other usual additions like separate living,dining,Car porch,sit out,Kitchen and work area is available.Those interested for these designs may write to me to

vhthomas@viruvelil.com

Importance of Plan of the house

Naturally any person thinking of building a house will have an outline about the plan of the house.Some people send to me coloured rectangles in Excel sheet marking each rectangle as some type of room like Living room,bed room etc.It is quite fine up to this.But the trouble starts when the client insists that whatever he drawn as per his understanding ,imagination and capability is the best that can be done and  the Architect is just a person  capable of drawing whatever he indicated with drawing techniques he might have studied or practiced.
What I call as Basic Plan of the house which gives position of each room,dimensions in correct scale marked using Auto Cad design methods is the most important document of the house and the starting point of every activity of  construction of the house.
I need to go and see the plot where the house will come up,study site conditions,directions,nearby roads,canals,rivers and I have to visualise in my mind  the house to be built with the facilities called for by the client.This visualisation process  by which I draw the plan of the house in my mind drawing,erasing,adding,correcting may take  many  days and some times more.I do not start sitting in front of the computer and start drawing in Auto Cad plan of the house just because client who think that drawing a Plan is only a child’s play start demanding plan within days of site visit.
In fact it will be beneficial for the client if the Architect take more time to develop the plan considering all possibilities and allowing more time for his creative mind to design something different,new and better.But in many cases client does not allow this time and finally due to pressure from the client I and many other Architects simply try to modify some of the earlier works suiting requirements of the client and send Plan to the client.In fact loser in this is the client who demands immediate drawing of a Plan for him simply forgetting the fact that more time given to Architect will get him better work.Client quite often also forget the fact that Architect may have his routine works ,other pending works and other commitments.
Similar is the case with Elevation of the house.Unlike Plan,same Plan  can have different elevation possibilities.When Client demands Elevation of the house within a specified limited time frame,a junior in the office of the Architect start drawing using usual techniques guided by the main Architect with some suggestions again of usual Elevation techniques.But if you give time to the Architect to develop most appropriate Elevation to be developed during the period of construction of the building you will get much much better work.For this you should have patience and trust in the capabilities of the Architect and should not have ego generated demands like” I want to see how the house will look now itself”
All my good works were done in cases where I had freedom of developing Plan and Elevation of the house either due to ignorance of the client or patient understanding of the client.
I have repeated  several times some designs of the house much against my wishes simply due to the insistence of the client that he want picture of house to be built immediately and Plan of the house within days of site visit.

Flat roof or slope roof?

I have started this blog when an unseen client of me living and working in Canada suggested me to write on my experiences.Now I keep getting mails appreciating my blog entries which help a lot people who intend to construct a house in Kerala  and those who have already started building house.

Of late,I have even started getting suggestions on topic for my blog entries.Now I will write on advantages and disadvantages of going for flat roof or slope roof concrete and in general about flat roof and slope roof again based on request from a client.

Technically,flat roof is better as concrete can be laid on a flat roof with better perfection.You can use a vibrator to compact concrete laid on flat roof whereas in slope roof you cannot do that.While laying concrete on slope roof,workers in general intentionally reduce water content even to the extent of not getting a proper mix.Whatever they may say to please the client,workers always do work in a manner convenient to them rather than doing the work more correctly even at the cost of more labour and inconveniences to them.

After laying concrete with proper mix on a slope roof,concrete tend to fall down on a slope  roof.Workers are supposed to put dry cement mix and trowel the surface again and again to make surface of concrete even and finished.I have seen workers doing this years back.But now they do not bother to do it.Instead they reduce water content to ridiculous level to prevent concrete laid falling down.

After the concrete is laid,curing is easier in flat roof as you can put brick barriers in boundaries to store water for curing over concrete laid.In the case of slope roof,you cannot do that.You will have to put jute bags on top and sprinkle water every hour to retain wetness over concreted surface which hardly any one does.At the maximum,water will be sprinkled on concreted surface in the morning and evening and in the heat of Kerala,it does not serve much purpose.

On top of concreted surface,I suggest laying of clay tiles for both flat roof and slope roof.This will reduce heat inside rooms as clay tile will absorb much of the heat.It will also take away possibility of concrete roof leakage and definitely much cheaper than going for aluminum roof over concreted roof.

Then why slope roof ? Slope roof will definitely increase visual appearance of the building as slope roof with clay tiles laid over it will give you traditional Kerala building appearance thus increasing the aesthetic appearance of the building.As slope roof raises the roof level,ceiling height inside rooms will go up thereby giving you better ventilation inside rooms in addition to better appearance even from inside house .

House Construction-When you should start?

I keep getting several mails from people who plan to build house in their native place in Kerala.Mostly they want to know how much it will cost to construct a house.If I tell a figure which they think is comfortable for them,they will start construction activities immediately.If I tell a higher cost figure,they will drop construction activities at least for the time being

To tell  possible cost of construction ,my knowledge in architecture,engineering and Vasthu will not be enough.I also will have to study Astrology.

To tell you frankly,one should start construction of house the moment you feel the need for a house in Kerala without waiting for some one to tell a lie about how much it will cost simply to make you happy.Without any data,no one can tell possible cost simply hearing possible plinth area of house you may simply guess.

I decided to construct a house for me in Cochin about seventeen years back.My Father wanted me to live in house which he built partially for me at native place,Cherthala.While working in Cochin,I was forced to move from one rented house to another after specific period of time ,packing and moving after a tiring search for house to meet my requirements and budget.

Finally when I decided to build a house,i was not an expert as I have never built another house.Just by being an Engineer you cannot build a house.Any Engineer friends of me will agree to it and that is why we have built maximum number of  houses for engineers.They at least know that an experienced Engineer in house construction is essential for building a house while many even now believe or are  forced to believe that a usual contractor is enough.

At that time even though I left comforts of my job and started our marketing company,I have not yet started construction company.

I kept searching for land by reading real estate ads in news papers and responding.In most cases I could not manage the amount of money required for buying the land even though some of the many plots seen were good enough ,if not bad.

One day I found an Ad in news paper for land in a good locality.I went and saw land just before 8 am on the day the advertisement came.I liked land at first sight itself.Price was reasonable.So no negotiation.I have given verbal commitment to the land owner who did not insist on an advance then and there.I only offered to buy  front portion of 15 cents of  land measuring about 6 cents.Later land owner told me that another person met him 15 minutes after me and offered to buy entire 15 cents and given a token advance of Rs.10,000/-Land owner being  a decent chap agreed to sell only balance portion keeping his word to me.

Now how will I manage money for buying land as I did not have that much money ? Next day I simply paid token advance of Rs.10,000/- without really knowing how I will arrange balance money.

Even though I never had the courage to ask my father for money,since I liked the land I took him to see the land.He also liked it.Then through my mother I made him agree to give a portion of money as loan.That was the best negotiating win of my life-making my Father agree to give me money even as loan.

Then I got a temporary Over draft from my banker using good performance figures of our marketing company and finally I managed to purchase that land even though the other portion was really sold  only after many months.

Again when I started construction,there was no money.My Father advised me to do construction later after saving enough money(Possibly to avoid me asking for more loan).But I was not willing to wait.I know very well that every passing day will push up cost of construction thereby pushing away from me my house construction.

For foundation work,I simply borrowed money from a private banker at high interest rates.After that money was over,I again went to another private money lender and got money at high interest rate.By that time I also managed to get housing loan from a housing loan company at lower interest rate.

As construction went on some what fast,I tried to minimise cost wherever possible without compromising on basic facilities needed and quality of work.

When the house construction was nearing finishing stage,there was no way to arrange money required.So I simply requested a supplier to our marketing company to extend credit period telling him frankly my need for money.As I had very good repaying records with the supplier he agreed with a condition that I should continue making payments even though amount of payment in each installment can be reduced.So his credit favour has helped me in bringing the house construction to finishing stage.

Finally when the house warming was going on I simply told to myself-“If only instead of presents these relatives and friends can pay in cash?”I was so badly in need of cash but no one was willing to help.

After building this house I realised the need for a professional agency to build houses as this field is full of cheats and crooks.That is how I entered into house construction and after building more than 200 houses I have lots and lots of people who value my services a lot and treat me like a family member for the rest of their life.

So my advise to you is simple.Do not wait for money to come to start building your house.Tomorrow will be too late as cost  can only go up to take away from you your dream house,possibly for ever

Is Vasthu owned by few persons?

I keep getting suggestions from many of my clients that they think Vasthu is something which Kanippayur or some other person says.If Vasthu has got any scientific basis,just like any other science like Architecture or Engineering,it is not owned by any particular person or persons.Whatever a particular person says does not become Vasthu features or requirements.
There are books available on Vasthu detailing clearly why and how a particular arrangement will be beneficial or harmful to persons living in the house.If Kanippayur says something contrary to these accepted and proven facts of Vasthu it can only be wrong.
If as an Engineer I start telling that whatever I say is only correct Engineering,then everybody will undoubtedly say that something is wrong with me. On matters of Engineering I have to substantiate and prove  that whatever I say is correct.Similarly whoever claims to talk as authority on Vasthu has to substantiate and prove his suggestions and recommendations.
These people who claim to be sole authority on Vasthu  always insist on preparing a revised plan(Of course with charges) even when anyone prepare a plan satisfying all Vasthu factors.If they say that everything is right, how can they charge customer for revised drawing?
Such blind belief in certain people going to the extent of saying whatever a particular person says only is Vasthu can only be termed as superstition

Compromises in quality of construction-Who is responsible?

If there is a house built,completely finished in all aspects where you simply have to move in with your personal belongings,it will be too good.
If that villa happens to meet all your requirements for the house,it will be good
If the house has the best design with professional involvement,good structural design,good workmanship,best materials used for each and every component of the house,it will be almost a dream come true.
But in reality such a dream never happens.Who build houses and sells?People who want to make money building and selling houses.If you do everything about house built correctly with the best design,best quality of materials and labour,may be you as a builder may not be able to compete in the market as your competitors are not much bothered about quality of work.When they offer a lower price,potential client who may not be able to judge superior quality of your work or design will naturally buy lower priced house.
So builder is left with no other alternative other than making compromises at least in areas where lower quality of work cannot be easily noticed.
Even when you are willing to build your house directly from the beginning with development of design,you look for cheaper alternatives.Rather than searching for the more capable designer with better creative talent,you look for some one who can draw plan of house free or with nominal fee.Then you search for a building contractor who quote lowest “square feet cost “knowing very well that the final cost may not necessarily be limited to that figure.
So when you buy a villa or when you construct a house with direct involvement,you are not keen on getting the best.When you really want the best(of course within your budget limitations),you will be willing to take professional guidance and assistance.Fees payable to a professional do not necessarily pull you back to have the house with many compromises on every aspect of construction.
At least you should not simply blame builder in either case.If builders are making compromises it is due to you forcing them to make compromises to remain in business.If you are willing to pay right price for the right quality,things will start improving on both ready built houses and custom built houses.