[::CMS::]

Originally Posted by khoj

Use "Marine Ply/Board"

Never use ply for a large surface like doors esp in a damp environment, it will bend like a bow due to the layered construction. A laminate will act as a catalyst. Its not even recommended for a wardrobe door, only for carcass as its is very rigid. Block boards can be more worse if the wood used is of bad quality. Moreover the flush doors is nothing but blockboards specifically bonded and joined using metal clips between the blocks with a strong outer cover. To prevent damage to this layer, the best option is to cover it with a water proof material, an Al is recommended as it can be shaped.

[Rotorhead]

dear bhpians,
recently i have purchased a house and want to do up the wardrobes and kitchen cabinets. Can anyone suggest any good carpenters in bangalore (preferably in koramangala) who are good at their work and at the same time reasonable.

how about guys like nolte or godrej interio ? any idea about their quality of work & service and cost.

besides one last help. There is a major pigeon infestation in the locality. has anybody had this issue and if yes then how you resolved it? It seems that pigeon nets are available in the market. Anyone who has used the services of such companies at bangalore, please do let me know the details.

regards

[patron]

Originally Posted by Rotorhead

dear bhpians,
recently i have purchased a house and want to do up the wardrobes and kitchen cabinets.

Congrats on the new abode!

Originally Posted by Rotorhead

how about guys like nolte or godrej interio ? any idea about their quality of work & service and cost.

I would suggest go with a carpenter if you can precisely know what you want. There are a lot of resources on the net where you can get some ideas.
Nolte quality of material is subpar - This was provided by our builder.

Originally Posted by Rotorhead

besides one last help. There is a major pigeon infestation in the locality. has anybody had this issue and if yes then how you resolved it? It seems that pigeon nets are available in the market. Anyone who has used the services of such companies at bangalore, please do let me know the details.

regards

I live in one of the larger apartment complexes in Bangalore and we recently got the entire complex 'pigeon proofed' using nets. We have a few fixed vendors who are servicing the complex. Of them, I would suggest Zeegra.

Melvin K J
Zeegra & Zeegreen
Ph: +91 94837 27997 / +91 94498 90879
Zeegra Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
#63B, 13th cross, 2nd Main,
J.P.Nagar IIIrd Phase
Bangalore 560 078
greenbusiness@zeegra.com, zeegreen.eco@gmail.com

[lambuhere1]

Hi Guys,

Any pointers for interior designers in BLR ?

Hearing about horror stories of untrustworthy carpenters and fly by night designers.

Would like to hear about your experiences with interior designers and the work done by them.

Appreciate your help

[mail4ajo]

Does anyone have experience with stone wall cladding? Any tips on how to maintain it, varnish etc? Looks like this is very popular in Bangalore.

I am referring to this (pic attached)

[stormerider]

Originally Posted by mail4ajo

Does anyone have experience with stone wall cladding? Any tips on how to maintain it, varnish etc? Looks like this is very popular in Bangalore.

I am referring to this (pic attached)

The stone in the image looks like a sandstone, which inherently are porous in nature and absorb/attract dust and fungus over years. For upkeep you need to apply silicone repellent solutions with a spray gun. These solutions basically seal the pores and keep the finish/colour intact, but recoating is required in approximately 4-5 years of time.
Try getting in touch with Dr.Fixit guys, they have a product - RepellentWR. Or ask around the local stone suppliers, they might be able to fix you up with the local guys.

[Aroy]

This type of stone work will attract a lot of dust and consequent labour for regular cleaning. Coating will help only in preventing moisture and fungus, but dust will always be there.

One solution is to grind the surface smooth, but than may be expensive.

[diyguy]

I have 2 adjacent corner plots in a layout and am considering starting construction soon as rents are too high in Chennai. My question is, since the 2 plots are registered separately, will there be any complication in getting permissions, approvals etc?

Also can I get 2 EB connections since these are 2 plots? Is there any advantage to that?

I am still to get my head around all the intricacies but I just read all 14 pages here and it has been very helpful. Don't know why I couldn't see the "Thanks" button, would have used it plenty!!

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by diyguy

I have 2 adjacent corner plots in a layout and am considering starting construction soon as rents are too high in Chennai. My question is, since the 2 plots are registered separately, will there be any complication in getting permissions, approvals etc?

Also can I get 2 EB connections since these are 2 plots? Is there any advantage to that?

I am still to get my head around all the intricacies but I just read all 14 pages here and it has been very helpful. Don't know why I couldn't see the "Thanks" button, would have used it plenty!!

If there is no service lane between the plots you have two options
. Consolidate the plot registration in one name
. Design the dwelling as two separate entities with a common wall, and access via doors on this wall.

I assume that EB is Electricity Board. There are advantages in having two connections only if the load is split and the tariff is load based. Other wise a single high capacity 3 phase connection is a better option.

[nowwhat?]

Originally Posted by diyguy

I have 2 adjacent corner plots in a layout and am considering starting construction soon as rents are too high in Chennai. My question is, since the 2 plots are registered separately, will there be any complication in getting permissions, approvals etc?

Also can I get 2 EB connections since these are 2 plots? Is there any advantage to that?

I am still to get my head around all the intricacies but I just read all 14 pages here and it has been very helpful. Don't know why I couldn't see the "Thanks" button, would have used it plenty!!

Usually here in Bangalore, people amalgamate the two plots and construct on both. Amalgamation is a simple process and I don't think it costs much. A few prefer to construct only one plot and convert the other into a garden just in case you want to sell it or build something later.

There can be savings on the electricity bill and water bill if you split the load on to two meters. However the dwellings have to be separate and building byelaws may more or less ensure that there would be a setback between the two dwellings. In simple terms, this would usually mess up the design of your home.

From a taxation point of view, you can only show one as your official residence and you will have to compute the rental income from the other as you are supposed to have only one residence at any given point in time.

[Jaguar]

Originally Posted by nowwhat?

There can be savings on the electricity bill and water bill if you split the load on to two meters. However the dwellings have to be separate and building byelaws may more or less ensure that there would be a setback between the two dwellings. In simple terms, this would usually mess up the design of your home.

Can't you get separate meters for two floors of the house? Will the property tax go up?

[nowwhat?]

Originally Posted by Jaguar

Can't you get separate meters for two floors of the house? Will the property tax go up?

Yes, you can. People do it all the time with multi-tenanted buildings in Bangalore. Water is always one meter per property, but electricity can be per dwelling.

However you need to get occupancy certificate from BBMP for each dwelling before applying for meter.

[diyguy]

Originally Posted by Aroy

If there is no service lane between the plots you have two options
. Consolidate the plot registration in one name
. Design the dwelling as two separate entities with a common wall, and access via doors on this wall.

I will need to check on this consolidation/amalgamation. It will benefit electricity costs and more than that I want to have higher load capacity as I have had issues with wires burning and fuses going off at my current residence due to 4-5 aircons couple of which are 2T.

Originally Posted by nowwhat?

Usually here in Bangalore, people amalgamate the two plots and construct on both. ...
However the dwellings have to be separate and building byelaws may more or less ensure that there would be a setback between the two dwellings. In simple terms, this would usually mess up the design of your home.

From a taxation point of view, you can only show one as your official residence and you will have to compute the rental income from the other as you are supposed to have only one residence at any given point in time.

This is great info. I think the amalgamation will help in the tax benefit and treat it as one unit.

Originally Posted by Jaguar

Can't you get separate meters for two floors of the house? Will the property tax go up?

Separate meters can be got if the house is split into two dwellings I guess. I dont plan to construct that way though.


On a separate note, if anyone has used a civil contractor to build a house in Chennai on OMR, kindly provide me a contact to the company. I am open to both labor and full contract.

Also if anyone of you have built a house trying to maximize use of natural resources of light, wind etc to influence the design, orientation etc, please do point me in the right direction. I cannot afford too much and have a budget of about 45L to construct a house of about 2200-2500 sq ft. We are a family of 5 and 3BR with Study/Office will suffice.

I was looking at couple of sites - apnaghar.in and homestyler.com and I guess I have a couple of weeks of hard research ahead.

[nowwhat?]

Originally Posted by diyguy

On a separate note, if anyone has used a civil contractor to build a house in Chennai on OMR, kindly provide me a contact to the company. I am open to both labor and full contract.

Also if anyone of you have built a house trying to maximize use of natural resources of light, wind etc to influence the design, orientation etc, please do point me in the right direction. I cannot afford too much and have a budget of about 45L to construct a house of about 2200-2500 sq ft. We are a family of 5 and 3BR with Study/Office will suffice.

I was looking at couple of sites - apnaghar.in and homestyler.com and I guess I have a couple of weeks of hard research ahead.

Amalgamation will not save electricity costs as you will end up in a higher tariff slab. But really electricity costs in India are usually not that high that we need to nickel and dime. Even with 5 ACs on full time I suspect the "savings" by evasion may not be more than 1-2K a month.

Get a 3 phase connection and use good wiring such as Finolex, good MCBs and a decent electrician. You shouldn't have any problems.

Please invest a lakh or so in a good architect. It is well worth it and I can't imagine doing it otherwise. The architect will also help you in getting plan approvals and guide you about amalgamation, etc. He may also know vastu and ways to use natural resources. Please note that the architect designed my house for maximum sunlight, but I am not a big fan of it and have mostly softened most of the windows by now. In India, there really is too much sunlight.

As someone who built my house myself under labor contract, I hope you are prepared for it. A labor contract will require you to be at the site for 4+ hours a day and you need to be able to answer multiple emergency calls from the "mestri" to buy sand, steel, gravel, etc. After doing it once, I do not have the stomach for it any more, but may still consider doing it for my own home as it gives you a lot of control. A year ago I did something on full contract and even then I used to spend almost the entire day at the site, the only solace being that I didn't have to run around for materials.

45 lakhs for around 2,500 sq. ft. is definitely doable. Best way to find a contractor is to look around the site at newly constructed homes and speak to one.

Try to do what I did and get a 3rd party engineer to vet all the bills. Civil engineers know current construction costs (material & labor) per square feet and they can really bring your costs down. Otherwise there is a real chance your costs will escalate. The labor contractor will get substandard labor and drag the work, the full contractor will bill you for all and sundry saying it is out of scope.

I wish you all the best in your endeavor!

[akhil_007]

Originally Posted by diyguy

On a separate note, if anyone has used a civil contractor to build a house in Chennai on OMR, kindly provide me a contact to the company. I am open to both labor and full contract.
/* Snip */
I was looking at couple of sites - apnaghar.in and homestyler.com and I guess I have a couple of weeks of hard research ahead.

Diyguy, Congrats on deciding to build a house. As a person who completed his house construction last year, I would like to share my experience, so that it may help fellow members.

My house is around 2400 sqft. and trust me, building a home is going to be a very good learning experience

1. Use the services of an architect- I cant stress more on this point. Most people think of architects for elevation. Architects dont do elevation alone. They do everything from Foundation,Pillars to choice of paint/colors and light fixtures. Tell your architect that he and the construction engineer should be working together till the last light is fixed. Architects charge anywhere between 3-8% of construction cost. You will save yourselves money, time and heartburn with this arrangement. Execution of Project, if taken up by Architect, is extra bonus for you

2. Regarding Light and Ventilation- I have two skylights in my home, 1 small garden and 1 pebble court with provision for wall fountain. Sure, you lose out on terrace space with skylight (about 30-40%). But I dont need artificial lights of any sort for my entire house(except bedroom) during any day of any season. Garden and Pebble Courts have French Windows(Doors actually). So, don't need AC/Fan.

3. Try to have 1 Kitchen, Bathroom/Toilet and Bedroom on ground floor. Will be useful for elders as they can get everything in same floor

4. Have covered car park for at least 1.5 cars space. Even if you lose out a bit on Interior space

5. West facing walls face heat after 12:00 PM. Try to avoid Doors on west side. Paint Light colors on west facing walls

6. Plan storage under the cots and in wardrobes. Discuss with your architect. My house storage is pretty big with this idea implemented

And finally regarding your budget, I dont think you can get a 2200 sqft house with 45 lakhs. Remember, construction is not the only factor. Plan Sanctions, Water, Electricity, Security, Borewell etc all contribute. And if you plan to get interiors done, that's an extra cost over and above this. I would say 55-60 lakhs would be required for civil construction and around 5 lakhs would be required to get interiors done

Some points to save costs:
1. Buy Vitrified Tiles for flooring. Don't go for Marble/Granite. You can buy expensive Vitrified Tiles(around 100-150 Rs) for common areas like living room, dining etc and cheaper ones for bedroom(around 60-80 Rs) since bedroom will be covered by Cot, Tables etc and it will be covered always.
2. Go for LED Lighting. But make a provision for Regular Tubelights in all rooms. LED lighting is costlier but you will save costs on Electricity and UPS(my entire house lights power consumption is around 150W)
3. Construct using cement blocks. You will save 20% on costs vis-a-vis Red Bricks and get 8% more space. Its stronger, lighter and requires usage of less cement
4. Try to avoid Wood Windows. Instead go for Aluminium/UPVC windows. The savings are huge. Use Flush Doors for all internal doors.

I dont know any architects/contractors in chennai. But I can put you in touch with my architect and maybe,he can help you find a good construction engineer in chennai.

Initial time from research to plan finalizing takes long time. Be prepared. It took me close to 6 months.

Feel free to PM for any questions/doubts