[Latheesh]

Friends,

I have created a thread for all Home construction/Maintenance/Makeover tips/queries

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifti...ce-thread.html

Please continue discussion there.

I will request Mod to move the latest construction related posts to new thread

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

For the record - got the IFB serviced from a non-IFB service dealership (a branded one, at that); for 6K. Will post details of service later. The front panel was fixed (rust); stainless steel drum replaced, etc.

v.anand - that is a good deal.

I had looked at siemens and was on verge of buying one (well - was on verge of buying LG and samsung too). IIRC, the model I saw was 5,.5 KG; had minimal wash programs and used an electro mechanical control (best that I can make out without opening it).

Yes, they are assembled in Turkey and some exotic source.

Originally Posted by Sugeeta

We find our original marble chip floors to be too dull and need to be polished quite often.

You mean mosaic? Is it level? Has to floor sagged? If so, it may need to be ripped up. (likely in case of ground floor house).

Plausible solution seemed to be getting them topped by floor tiles. Based on what I have heard, they can be fixed by an adhesive to the existing flooring.

Yes. There are adhesives available.

For best looks, use "jointless" tiles. Cost is upwards of Rs. 40/- per sq ft. They appear to be jointless since the edges are well shaped.

Be careful while shopping - some tiles / brands / shops quote rates per tile; some per square foot. Make allowances for "cuts" at edges of the room - so you will need a bit more than actual area of the room.

Also, lay down 8 or more tiles to check if they are real flat.

Some brands which come to my mind in no particular order -

Johnson & johnson
Somany
Kajaria
Bell

There are umpteen other brand9less) brands from Morve / Gujarat. Depends on your luck. I am not happy with the quality of the branded tiles I got for my bathroom. Even slight bends in the tiles (yes - they are not exactly flat) stick out like ragged shut lines in poorly built cars.

If any member has done this, please let me if this works well, or the original floor needs to be removed before laying the new floor

Did it in my spare bathroom. Floor had to be ripped out; took 3 days. But that was a cement floor.

An office adjoining mine did it; IT was 200 sq. feet or so; but they took 5/6 days. They did not rip up the floor (it was 1st floor); and did only flooring; unlike bathroom where walls too were done up. I used cement in the bathroom - the office used paste / glue.

Also, how long does it take to complete laying the tiles.

May be a few hours. 2-3 days maximum; if you are not ripping out the old floor.

What brands have been used with satisfactory results.

Depends on the quality you get. See above.

Are they prone to breaking especially in (naughty) children's rooms?

Whoops!!! No.

[Thad E Ginathom]

My experience is that how flat tiles turn out to be depends on two things:

1. How level the surface they are laid on is.

2. The skill of the tiler. For a start, he has to understand that they should be level!

The tilers who did our kitchen (ordinary ceramic floor tiles) were horrified that I expected to be able to put a steel rule on the floor and slide it without hitting a tile edge. How they would handle the real-smooth jointless marble or granite slabs I do not know. Actually, I suppose I do know: they'd hire a grinding machine after laying them.

[WanderNomad]

Did anyone have a brush with IFB WM installation of late? The guy visited yday and told me he wont do any plumbing (a tap with dual output needs to be installed), wont do any electric work (a power socket needs to be installed in place of 5A socket) and I essentially need to buy a connector worth 250 from him which he wont fit if I get that of my own. I am wondering what installation is left after this as rest even I can do. Pls provide me your valuable inputs.

Also please do some brain storming and suggest what can be wrong with my Hitachi 2T AC installed in a 12 X 10 room. The AC had a recharge recently and everything seems to be perfect (Air flow, temperature) but the cooling isnt effective. A 2T should be able to chill a room of this size but it is far from that. Its like a 0.5T AC working perfectly in a big room. This AC was earlier lying unused and has been installed recently in my new location. The bedroom where its installed is 12 X 10, ground floor with 9 floors on top and doesnt get sun from even one side. The AC isnt able to bring down the room temp from 30 to 20 even after working overnight.

[omishra]

Originally Posted by WanderNomad

I essentially need to buy a connector worth 250 from him which he wont fit if I get that of my own. I am wondering what installation is left after this as rest even I can do. Pls provide me your valuable inputs.

I have no experience with IFB but Siemens. Guy called in advance to make sure water source (WM tap) and electrical connection(15A) are fitted with proper connections near to proposed place of installation. Then he arrived with that plastic+metal connector which was attached to tap by pushing and tight screws. It was provided free of cost as a part of initial installation. Other thing comes under installation are -

• unpacking WM, (release fixed Drum in case of FL), installing at designated place
• leveling WM on its feet using spirit level balance.
• Measuring water pressure level from tap and adjusting the tap for pressure if required. In our case it was okay with tap opened fully. This step is to save electrically operated valves at water inlet from excess pressure.
• Verify working status with a demo.

[Aroy]

My experience with tiles. As granite is extremely hard and cannot be successfully polished at home, the problems with granite are same as those for tiles.

Small tiles (< 1 foot) do not look elegant on floor, hence I am discussing large tiles (2 - 3 feet a side).

1. Tiles are in general more prone to cracking than mosaic and stone floors. The reason is not that the tiles are bad, but because of voids left below the tiles after they are laid. This is due to the substrate (whether cement or adhesive) shrinking or shifting with time and leaves voids.

2. Contrary to general perception, tiles require extremely good craftsmanship to lay. First the surface has to be flat and if not so, prepared to be flat. Second the tile layer must apply the cement/adhesive uniformly and lay the tiles firmly, expelling all the voids. The cement/adhesive must be of the type that does not shrink or deteriorate with time.

3. If floor has to be slightly inclined in more than one direction (to facilitate water draining off), laying becomes impossible, as edges stick out (even 1/4mm can be felt and collect dirt). With mosaic or stone floors you grind the floor to its final surface finish, which is not possible with tiles.

4. Laying of tiles on existing floor raises the floor and fouls the doors, apart from creating drainage problems. I have seem tiles laid out perfectly, but the slopes are such that water accumulates in patches of depression.

From my past experience, after experiences innumerable friends going in for tiles, I have concluded that it is better to rip the floor and relay it with stone. The advantages are

1. You get a uniform flat floor after it is ground and polished.
2. You have drainage sorted out
3. The floor remains at the same level
4. The skill required to lay tiles "properly" keeping drainage slopes correct and surface flush is much higher compared to stone laying.
5. An last but not the least it may be less expensive. Good tiles - 2' x 2' go beyond 200/sq.ft, good marble, at least in Delhi is much less.
6. A cracked tile is a lifelong nightmare and extremely difficult to replace. Colour matching tiles at a later date is practically impossible as there is batch to batch variation in colour. Even for tiles from the same batch, the colour of tiles laid on the floor for five years will differ from those kept in the store.

Our mosaic floor is now 35 years old. We have ground the floor twice in that period, using the so called Italian Granite Polishing Machines. These machines use a very fine stone and a light touch, so that minimum material is cut while maintaining mirror finish. Usually two to three passes are enough for existing floor. The grinding creates a brand new look which lasts for at least ten years. The only down side is that every time around 3-5mm is ground off, and I think I can get another two grindings before the mosaic becomes too thin.

In contrast after putting in tiles in one of my bathrooms, in ten years I have floor which looks good in patches. The seams seem to collect a lot of dirt that is impossible to clean. Add to that jutting edges ( less than 1/4mm but there still) due to complex slopes required to drain the water. Mosaic floor in our other bathrooms are fine after 35 years of constant use. They just require polishing every ten to fifteen years.

[dadu]

Originally Posted by WanderNomad

Did anyone have a brush with IFB WM installation of late? The guy visited yday and told me he wont do any plumbing (a tap with dual output needs to be installed), wont do any electric work (a power socket needs to be installed in place of 5A socket) and I essentially need to buy a connector worth 250 from him which he wont fit if I get that of my own. I am wondering what installation is left after this as rest even I can do. Pls provide me your valuable inputs.

You need to get the plumbing and electrical work yourself, they will just come and fix the water hose and power plug.

[WanderNomad]

Thanx everyone for your response. May I request the experts to do some brain storming on the AC problem too.

[Thad E Ginathom]

I agree re the socket and the tap: I wouldn't expect a washing machine delivery man to do this (except maybe informally, for personal reward) or even be capable.

My contribution on the AC problem: the inside fan may be dirty. The aerodynamics of those long, cylinder-shaped (what is the right technical term?) blower fans is quite sensitive, as the "blades" are quite small. A layer of dust really affects the efficiency. We experienced this, with a 2-ton Samsung, to the point where the airflow through the machine became so low that it started to ice up.

[UKR]

Originally Posted by gopikb

UKR, your inputs came just in time as I am doing a renovation of my house. We have 8-year old Mosaic flooring in our home too and I really want to lay granite flooring on top of it. When you were doing a research on flooring did you consider granite too? Just wanted to know the pros and cons before I jump into doing it. If anybody has any advice, do let me know

Granite was ruled out primarily because we were looking for light colors, some thing close to white so that the rooms would look roomy and clean.

Originally Posted by Sugeeta

My only nightmare is dropping and dragging heavy stuff on the tiles may damage them.

I would advice going in for vitrified tiles mainly because,
1. They are quite tough and thicker than normal ceramic tiles. You need to have a look to see how tough it actually is.
2. For vitrified tile, the design pattern runs deep into the tile, hence impossible to scratch off. And for the same reason, floor polishing machine can be used on them once it looses its sheen with out the fear of loosing the design pattern.
3. Unlike the slightly rounded edges of normal ceramic tiles, vitrified tiles have right angle edges enabling it to be laid with minimal gap giving a seamless feel.
4. And it cost only about half of what granite would cost.

Originally Posted by Sugeeta

gopikb, certain common areas in my office have granite flooring. Can be dangerously slippery when wet or polished. Avoid using black as scratches and watermarks look very ugly.

Very true. We have used black granite on the stairs. It is very slippery and the water marks look particularly bad on black granite.

Originally Posted by WanderNomad

Did anyone have a brush with IFB WM installation of late?
Also please do some brain storming and suggest what can be wrong with my Hitachi 2T AC installed in a 12 X 10 room.

I faced the same thing with my LG washing machine. I was told that they won't be doing any plumbing or electrical work. If I have a tap and plug point ready, then they would come and connect the WM to the tap, plug it in and show me how to use it. Even a 10th grader could do that I thought, told them no need to bother.

Regarding the AC, how is the voltage situation in your place. Asking because we face the same issue with our ACs. At times when voltage drops too low, the AC still seems to operate but it actually doesn't cool. But ours is Haier not Hitachi and they are the worst ever at least for ACs(not dared to touch any other from them since). We are stuck with not one, but three units from them.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Sugeeta

gopikb, certain common areas in my office have granite flooring. Can be dangerously slippery when wet or polished. Avoid using black as scratches and watermarks look very ugly.

It must have been someone's expensive mistake...

Broadgate development, London (next to Liverpool Street Station). The first time I walked across the newly-opened public area in the middle of this large development, i saw they had laid shiny, polished granite tiles. I thought, "As soon as it rains, they'll be settling claims for broken legs and worse."

The next time I walked across, there were workers with grinders, taking the polish off the entire area!

We should be particularly careful not to use shiny surfaces for areas that regularly get wet, or for stairs.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

The next time I walked across, there were workers with grinders, taking the polish off the entire area!

We should be particularly careful not to use shiny surfaces for areas that regularly get wet, or for stairs.

That is why I like Mosaic floor, especially ones containing white cement. Over the years of constant mopping a bit of the cement wears off, but the stone chips do not. This results in a "non-slip" surface, ideal for stairs and bathrooms. I have mosaic in my old bathroom and no one slips. In my new one my wife insisted on vitrified tiles - the non skid types with dimpled pattern. The tiles are fine till a bit of oil & water mixture is on them, then you simply skate on them. In pursuit of one upmanship to get some thing better-than-thy-neighbour/friend, people forget safety and end up in a dangerous situation. I know of a number of elderly persons who have slipped in the bathroom and broken their hips, all due to insistence on having the latest shiny floor tiles.

I have seen people paving their driveway with granite or marble polished to a high sheen, and then they have problem diving their car in as it slips constantly, and as you have observed they finally have to grind longitudinal grooves to get some traction.

In Delhi, at least, sandstone makes an excellent flooring for outdoors. It weathers beautifully and at the same time is never slippery. Plus it comes in thick slabs nearly 2 inches thick which ensures decades of trouble free service.

[download2live]

Guys it seems there is some problem with the Water Geyser in my house. Its a V-guard make. Right now the both the red and the green lights switch one when powered. Green one means that the power suply is there. The red one means that the heating element is working. But the water coming out is normal cold water.

Any pointer what could have gone wrong? Any DIY?

[Mustang.101]

Originally Posted by download2live

Guys it seems there is some problem with the Water Geyser in my house. Its a V-guard make. Right now the both the red and the green lights switch one when powered. Green one means that the power suply is there. The red one means that the heating element is working. But the water coming out is normal cold water.

Any pointer what could have gone wrong? Any DIY?

The heating element has probably conked off. You need to get it replaced through the service guy.

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

This is May 11th; not April 1st.

And this is from the paper; not some tabloids.

See

Google 'to make bulbs and dishwashers'


And also stumbled upon this:-

Google PowerMeter API for Developers

So, there is some thing is really up.


Google 'to make bulbs and dishwashers'