[AppyS]

Originally Posted by whencut86

Way too many Architects/Contractors in Social Media these days and the workmanship is good. Please also list out what all needs to be done.
For good quality lasting 10-15 years easily,
Kitchen can cost between 3-5 lakhs
Each Wardrobe can cost you 1.2-1.5 lakhs
Other items like TV Units, Shoe Rack, Display Units, Crockery Cabinets, etc can cost you 1-1.5lakhs in total.

These Social Media Architects take extra time and project can get delayed by a month or two depending on their other projects as well and they generally hand it over to sub-contractors known to them. So best to get hold of an individual sub-contractor who can get things done quickly.

Thanks, trying that route after getting unaffordable quotes upwards of 13.5-15 l for TV unit, Shoe rack, 3BR Wardrobes, Crockery, Vanity and Pooja with Modular kitchen and basic False ceiling in Living/dining from brands like Bonito/Homelane etc. Read some reviews affirming what you said on delays. Contacted few small designers that are sharing manageable quotes. Asking for quotes for as many as I can before finalizing. Searched here and found some names contacted them too, e.g. Armino and Bhramari, more tried and tested names are welcome so long as it is within my budget range.

[Sebring]

IKEA Bangalore is slated to open this month (I heard). They have designers and the products are quite reasonably priced

Originally Posted by AppyS

Thanks, trying that route after getting unaffordable quotes upwards of 13.5-15 l for TV unit, Shoe rack, 3BR Wardrobes, Crockery, Vanity and Pooja with Modular kitchen and basic False ceiling in Living/dining from brands like

[Ananthang]

Hello TBHPians,

Need a suggestion, we pay close to 5000 to maid in the last 3 Years including monthly salary, food and bonus. Almost 60000 per year.

My wife is asking me to buy IRobot vacuum cleaner, Dishwasher and Full Dryer for cloths. This would offset me by 1L and monthly expense will be around 1000 for electricity and dishwasher soap.

Stil I would break even within 2 Yrs.

What are you suggestions on her thoughts.

Pros- More privacy, No dependency, Minimal savings post second year
Cons- Maid does Mopping which she says she will do herself, going to near by shops(which we can use Zepto)

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by Ananthang

My wife is asking me to buy IRobot vacuum cleaner

Works very well in rooms with carpets, but can’t say the same about the regular marble or other floors. You will still need to wet mop.

Dishwasher

Works well but expect an increase in power consumption, takes a lot of time for the complete cycle. If you are two members, washing by hand will be faster and cheaper

Full Dryer for cloths.

Absolutely recommended, you get 100% dry clothes.

By paying to the maid, you are also helping her take care of her family, maybe children's education and so forth. So, if she is sincere and not intrusive, better continue.

[deep_bang]

Originally Posted by Ananthang

My wife is asking me to buy IRobot vacuum cleaner, Dishwasher and Full Dryer for cloths. This would offset me by 1L and monthly expense will be around 1000 for electricity and dishwasher soap.

We got a floor cleaning robot and a dishwasher in the pandemic. Let me give you my feedback.

The dishwasher is a godsend. Superb. No doubt it's worth investing in the same. However do remember that it will take some extra effort to put the dishes and I usually soak them earlier although the dishwasher manual says that there is no need. Porcelain and stainless steel stuff works best. Glass also works well except very delicate ones.
I would not worry much about electricity as I hardly saw a blip in my bill even with everyday usage for over a few months. I would say it may have increased say a 100 rupees or so.

The floor cleaner on the other hand has not be as useful. The one I have can be programmed with time etc, but somehow the manual effort needed to make it work is still significantly high. My model can also be used for wet mopping but it's a chore to change the attachment and start it. Perhaps we have not figured out the best way to use.

[AppyS]

Originally Posted by deep_bang

The floor cleaner on the other hand has not be as useful. The one I have can be programmed with time etc, but somehow the manual effort needed to make it work is still significantly high. My model can also be used for wet mopping but it's a chore to change the attachment and start it. Perhaps we have not figured out the best way to use.

+1 on this for the floor cleaner robot. Vaccuming is very good and better than brooming for sure, but only in the areas it can reach. Sometimes you will see dirt accumulating right under the edges of your sofa, which these may or may not pick depending whether they took the sweep with the brush placed in which direction(Not applicable for those with two sweep brushes I hope). Also mopping is subpar and if you ran mop+sweep together sometimes the mop plasters grime on the floor, sticking the dirt all over the floor making it dirtier.You also can't use floor cleaners, so mop is practically a weak wipe with water. For lockdown and covid scenario it was for sure a Godsend, but for long term it's not a maid replacement. And don't forget all the effort in removing mats, office chairs etc daily, cleaning filters, brushes and dust box, refilling etc. Final bonus is sometimes for the MI Mop it keeps forgetting maps after a while or losing the wifi

[Thad E Ginathom]

We have had a new maid for past few months. She is so good: she does in a couple of hours what previous lady dithered over all day. In fact, this lady is so competent and able, I say that she should be management, not maid!

And I wouldn't want to change her for a machine or three.

[mvadg]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

We have had a new maid...

And I wouldn't want to change her for a machine or three.

You should get her a Dyson. It would be an incentive for her to stay with you even if she were offered a higher wage elsewhere.

[One]

Originally Posted by Ananthang

Hello TBHPians,

My wife is asking me to buy IRobot vacuum cleaner, Dishwasher and Full Dryer for cloths. This would offset me by 1L and monthly expense will be around 1000 for electricity and dishwasher soap.

What are you suggestions on her thoughts.

Having done this pandemic onwards, it is a good idea unless you are concerned about the below aspect:

Originally Posted by Turbanator

By paying to the maid, you are also helping her take care of her family, maybe children's education and so forth. So, if she is sincere and not intrusive, better continue.

Cleaning Robot

Why Great: The cleaning robot does a better job than normal sweeping. If you try a regular wet mop after a robot run, the water hardly turns black which indicates it has cleaned dust in major areas well. You have mentioned you don't need it for mopping so that is the best way to go about it as all the mopping function of robots is not much more than a wet wipe.

Disadvantages: Corners cannot be reached easily, sometimes some sections can get left out and there's the sound of vacuuming which is not the most pleasant. Also a maid can be asked to maybe dust the cobwebs off walls etc which obviously can't be done with a Robot.

Last I checked, iRobot was the only company offering two years warranty but they offer least features with respect to price. I have experimented with three different models, I would skip the 6xx series. You can DM me in case you want to know more about the differences.

Originally Posted by deep_bang

The dishwasher is a godsend. Superb. No doubt it's worth investing in the same.

Endorse this statement, can't understand why we didn't get it earlier. We don't even pre-clean/ soak dirty utensils, just put them in and take them out (it is recommended to do it this way as well). Sometimes, food does remain (e.g. "malai" sometimes) but it comes off easily with a wipe. Uses less water, utensils are cleaner and less hassles as compared to maids.

Dryer dries clothes 100%, again a good choice.

Of the three, only the robotic cleaner can be questioned in terms of 100% superiority in terms of flexibility, but personally am satisfied with it (we use those mops which don't need us to bend). It does need one to personally clean corners/ walls as well as mop (mopping frequency based on personal choice) so that's one thing to consider.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by mvadg

You should get her a Dyson. It would be an incentive for her to stay with you even if she were offered a higher wage elsewhere.

She doesn't work full time for us; she has three houses where she works, and she sells flowers on the street. Apparently they had other business interests which they had to let go when her her husband part of a leg due to diabetic complications. I'd be very happy, no pun intended, to see them on their feet again. Deserves better.

But no Dyson. I had one: cheapest they ever made, and yes, it was effective, but I wouldn't pay their usual silly prices for any of their products. Mine was a victim of the Chennai flood. And I do not consider it worthwhile for tiled floors.

[Ananthang]

Wow Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Having stayed in US, we know how to get work done perfectly by dishwasher and very useful.

For the maid, we have been same maid for 2 yrs before I went to use and after 6 years when we came back, she got back doing the same thing for us. God forbid she is very loyal, committed and helpful. My wife calls her as mother previous generation/Genma. We treat as family and she gives back the same to us.

But we are going to different area next year, which also slightly costly area, so this was my wife’s thought.

Let me explore iRobot or equivalent some more and decide.

[Abhinav V]

Hi all,
Need your valuable suggestions here!
We are currently building a rental property in a residential area in Bengaluru.
So far, laying of tiles have been completed.
I chanced upon an advertisement of JSW Paints and searched it on google.
Apparently they're available only at JSW Paint dealers and not neighbourhood hardware stores (yet).
So we visited a dealership in JP Nagar today.
We were explained in detail about their products and thought we should give them a chance.
Reasons for favouring JSW Paints:
1)JSW Brand:- When I see the name JSW, Karcham dam comes to my mind and the kind of dams they have built in the mountains.
2)New company so competitive price!
3)Warranty and customer service. All these years when we bought Asian Paints, it was
bought always from a local hardware shop, so no communication with the company and
with JSW, we were told, any issues could be raised with the customer service.
4) Asian paints as far as I know is a paints maker where as JSW is a big diversified
company.

Also if anyone has recommendations for UPVC Windows, feel free to PM me.
Cheers.
Abhinav

[Thad E Ginathom]

I would not worry about any major brand of paint. Put it on the wall, it stays there. As long as the wall is prepared properly. Interior, washable paints can last well for many years, and the more expensive outdoor paints can last five, ten or more years.

[@og_adi]

BHPians,
We have a damp roof in a room which emits bad odour, leading to it being unusable.


(Observe the dark spot) (Tried my best to capture it)

The exact spot on the terrace (floor above it) has no tiles in that specific area and looks something like this-


(The cover is a latest addition, will explain later in the post)

This terrace on top of the bedroom is otherwise tiled and hence leads me to thinking whether the rain plays spoilsport only here since it is not tiled.

There's no odour when it is sunny but as it gets cloudy/rainy, the room is a total mess (odour). Few hours ago, this untiled area was full of moss/algae (not sure what it's called but it's green) and I cleaned it myself and placed a plastic cover there on the spot exactly above the damp region. The plan was initially to sprinkle some baking powder on the surface on top of which the cover was to be placed as this dehydrating agent would help dehydrate the region and the cover when it rained, keeping the surface dry. Couldn't get my hands on the baking powder but managed to place a cover there.

I'm a total noob in such things (I'm only 18) and hence want to seek help from you learned people regarding it. I'm not even sure if what I did is right and hence want to know if my thought process is in the right direction and if not, guide me. I really wouldn't have bothered to look for a fix if it weren't my room .

[vsathyap]

Originally Posted by @og_adi

BHPians,
We have a damp roof in a room which emits bad odour, leading to it being unusable ...... I'm not even sure if what I did is right and hence want to know if my thought process is in the right direction and if not, guide me. I really wouldn't have bothered to look for a fix if it weren't my room .

For starters, you have identified the cause of the problem - so thats a well deserved thumbs up. Next is to fix it.

What you have done so far will only hold good until the next rains. You will need a proper water proofing fix for the un-tiled area and any decent water proofing person worth his salt will get this done in a half a day's time (max 1 full day). The first thing they would do is to use a heavy (metal) brush and remove all the loose debris / dust around the area. Then, they would identify thin hairline cracks and expose them by marking them and making them bigger. After this, they would inject a slimey liquid (which would be an epoxy based sealant) which would essentially seep into the cracks and effectively "seal" the micro openings along the cracks. Finally, a top layer of water proofing compound with cement followed by a coat of "surface water proofing paint" coat like Dr. Fixit will essentially do the trick.

If I were you, I'd go on urban clap or hire some other local contractor who specialises in water proofing treatment and get this done on priority before the next rains. If left untreated, the problem in your room is only going to get worse and mold and mildew will start appearing - which is a big mess in itself. Total damage to the wallet may be 2-4K depending on the extent of the damage and the material/labour requirement.