[Aroy]

If the bylaws permit it and you are constructing a basement then

. Raise the roof of the basement at least 1m above ground, ideally 1.5m
. Ensure that any windows in the basement are at least 50cm above the ground and can be properly sealed against water ingress
. Construct the basement with RCC walls and floor, not bricks using water proofing compund with RCC and shotcrete afterwards to seal all pores.
.

[amitk26]

Originally Posted by condor

When you do this, make sure rain water doesnt enter - and any water that may enter can be pumped out before any damage can happen.

Yes water ingress is always a problem in Bangalore. I plan to dig 3 feet dia 30 feet deep open well at basement level as RWH pit. The usual mistake people do is to put concrete everywhere and depend on sump tank and pump.
The problem is whenever there is heavy rain power cut is invariably there and pump never operates when needed the most.

All around basement walls towards outside I have put french drains near to footing of wall (explained in pics below) and this will be drained in this pit ( well digging yet to be done)

In addition to this the car ramp will have a square shape box drains both at top and bottom with concrete walls and kaccha floor and a layer of 40mm stones for collecting rain water and soaking in soil.
Hopefully this will suffice else will add a automatic sump pump as well in same pit in ramp.

Originally Posted by Aroy

. Construct the basement with RCC walls and floor, not bricks using water proofing compund with RCC and shotcrete afterwards to seal all pores.
.

Yes partial basement like 1 -1.5 m above soil line and 1 m below works best. As per code ceiling height of 2.4 m is required in Bangalore.

RCC walls depend on the soil pressure you have against the wall . if it is only 3-4 feet solid blocks on RCC plinth beam is fine.

I got the waterproofing compund mixed in concrete and also
got 2 layers of BASF Masterseal 551 compund painted on wall and then plastered (plaster again had IWP compund added). To make plaster stick to waterproofing layer coarse M sand was sprayed on wet waterproofing layer to give a rough surface.

However providing drainage to subterraine water is most important.

The best way to do this is to put a perforated 4 inch PVC pipe with holes on side forming a channel at bottom and warpping pipe in
layer of crushed 20mm stone and finally both stone and pipe in it is wrapped in geotextile clothing to keep clay out. This pipe should be drained in a rainwater pit.

The white colour cloth in picture below is 100 GSM geotextile folded in to two. Got a 100 meters roll for 5K Rs though I needed around 20 meters max.

This is also known as french drain

Pictures attached to explain it better

[AJo]

Originally Posted by jas_mirage

Roof slabs are in my agenda after a lot of reading. Was wondering how we can use insulated walls here.

Insulated walls can be done in couple of ways -
1) Use a specific bond called "rat-trap bond" to construct nine inch thk brick walls. (Can be done using any standard brick. Needs good quality labour skills). The bond creates an air cavity which acts as an insulator. (I am sure your architect would know what is a rat-trap bond).

2) Use insulated concrete blocks to construct the external walls. (But this product would need to be available in your vicinity).

Hope this helps,
AJ

[condor]

Please plan for

1. piped gas supply - they will drill holes into the walls.
2. entry points for cables (fibre, ac ducts etc)
3. Mounting brackets for a/c - even if not using now.
4. Terrace roof - a little slope to drain the water.
5. To surface of terrace roof - suitable material so moss doesnot grow.
6. Remember not to place solar water heater on bedroom roof: it causes heating below the unit.
7. Avoid cabinets betow sinks/washbasins - the water from washing the basins will damage the wood sheets over time.
8. Maintain electrical wiring diagrams. These will be needed later on.
9. We let the RO waste water outside into a small drum. Water is used for washing outside areas. If possible, can be used to soak the used utensils before the maid comes to wash the vessels.
10. Can have separate meter for water pump / lighting outside the house. This will help if/when you have a separate unit on upper floors.

11. Avoid double-height ceilings inside the house - is a big pain for cleaning and replacing any bulbs that are mounted from such ceilings

12. Roma switches over time will dislodge from the switch box. (the mounting piece will break). Try other brands like Legrand
13. Avoid mini fan regulators. The speed regulation is not linear. (we are using Panasonic)
14. Avoid cool-white /LED lights in bedroom.

[drsingh]

Great suggestions in the thread. Few pointers from my side.

Go for simple bathroom , kitchen fittings that can be serviced easily by local plumbers.

Don't go for European design kitchens and bathrooms blindly without taking local customs and habits into consideration.

Those things are designed to meet Eurozone specifications.

Spend money on things you will use and interact with daily:

-bathroom
-kitchen
-bed

Keep bathroom plumbing restricted to one wall and keep space for plumbing shaft for easy access repairs etc.

Electrical distribution is cheap if you design it according to modern appliances.

But don't compromise on electrical conductors. I'd suggest you spend major part of electrical distribution budget on increasing conductor size. 6mm upto all room MCB instead of 4. 4mm upto all power points instead of 2.5. 2.5 for all sockets instead of 1.5.

This makes future upgrade installations like dryers, high end music systems, oil heaters etc. much easier.

Use bldc fans, high efficiency LED.( I think CORVI brand has 150 lumens/watt) . Use LED panels, surface lights from reputed companies and buy spares, I'd suggest 20% spare lights of sane model.BLDC fans don't need a fan regulator.

By being efficient in electrical design from the beginning, you can incorporate solar,inverter back up etc. much cheaper overall.

I don't like solar heaters, because in winters you have to waste upto 2 buckets cold water to start getting hot water, in every bathroom/kitchen.

Would also suggest to build a ledge above windows to place AC ODU. And shelter them with fibreglass if required.Although roof /balcony above window ledge would be enough. This setup would make servicing and installation easier and cheaper.

Try to use all brass accessories in bathroom instead of stainless steel.

Keep a 9 inch exhaust hole for proper exhaust fan in bathrooms, instead of the fad to keep 4-5 inch fans in glass window cutouts.

Keep dedicated water/, electrical supply for washing machine instead of placing near bathroom.

Dedicated wash basin outside near entry to house is great to have. But put a dedicated loft tank or small tank.

Redundancy in water storage. So many bathrooms/kitchen outlets are points of failure. Leakage due to human error or failure of fittings can result in an empty storage tank. Ground level storage tanks, loft tanks for every bathroom, kitchen and redundant tank for garden/outdoor sink/car wash etc are options.

If you suddenly decide to have 8-10 people over, you will appreciate the extra water.

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Originally Posted by drsingh

I don't like solar heaters, because in winters you have to waste upto 2 buckets cold water to start getting hot water, in every bathroom/kitchen.

Try to use all brass accessories in bathroom instead of stainless steel.

Keep a 9 inch exhaust hole for proper exhaust fan in bathrooms, instead of the fad to keep 4-5 inch fans in glass window cutouts.

Insulating pipes from water heater to tap is always a good idea. Whether a solar heater or a indoor heater is used. Yes - the water in the pipes do get cool and that is a valid point.

Ventilation in bathrooms and other rooms is a big problem I keep on noticing in buildings less than 20 years age. For bathrooms, put a slanted "Venetian blind" type, but fixed (aw, whatever you name it) on the door. And a ventilator / window with tilted translucent glass. Plus, a 4 inch hole as close to the ceiling as possible for the exhaust. 9 inches is an overkill, IMHO. Without ventilation slats on bathroom door, air will be sucked in through the window and thrown out through the exhaust, with little or no forced flow in other areas.

If you notice, most bathrooms are a square or rectangle of the four corners of the bed room. Instead of this, try a design where a part of bathroom projects out of the bedroom quadrilateral. This requires

Agree about the brass fittings. More expensive ones use ceramic though. 0

The most important - place ventilators as close to the ceiling as possible in all rooms - and keep them in a straight line from one outer wall to other outer wall. These should be 3 or 4 cm height and 60 -75 cm long. Or a series of 2 inch diameter holes. Warm air rises and gathers at the top and has no escape route if these are absent. Using a ceiling fan will only recirculate the hot air. These should be in a straight line to enable natural wind flow to "push in" at one end and "come out" through other end of the building.

If you later use a/c, close them using thin plywood or 2 mm panels used in aluminium fabrication. In either case use hinges so that you can leave the closure open. Putting mosquito mesh on both sides of ventilators on outer walls too is a good idea.

Cross ventilation, if well designed, is far better than a/c.

Example of small exhaust fans for bathroom -

https://www.amazon.in/dp/B071NVW8CF/..._DpHBEb9R5QKKP

[GladRagu]

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

"Pointing" is putting a chemical / powder / compound in between the tiles. For bathrooms, this is crucial to prevent water seepage.

Summary - do more investigations, especially about the apartment just above this.

Originally Posted by condor

Like BackSeatDriver indicated, this would mean slow seepage of water in the floor of the bathroom above. For this to stop, the owner of the flat above needs to rectify it. And if this is the case of the bath room above, you may also check how this bathroom is - by going to the one below.

Originally Posted by keroo1099

From the pics it looks like you have a bathroom above with a sunk slab that allows for sanitary pipes to run under the tiles and out to a duct, so the best way to tackle this is to

1. Check if the exposed plaster is wet or dry

1. If dry, then you have dodged a bullet and the ceiling just needs a new lick of paint

Looking at the pics of the ceiling it doesn't look wet to me, so keep fingers crossed.

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Is the area around the peeling wet or dry. If it's dry then it is just bad quality paint. Bad quality paint in humid environments like bathroom gets peeled. Have experienced such in my home as well. If dry then nothing to worry. Scrap the old paint, apply putty and fresh paint. If wet, then like other pointed out, there might be a more serious problem

Thank you all for the suggestions. It's the first floor and hence no bathrooms below to check the condition of bathroom.
Keroo, as you noticed, it's dry and hence I dodged the bullet . So, a good quality paint will suffice I believe.

Thanks a lot backseatdriverfor the " Pointing" thing, I've zero knowledge on these matters and learnt a useful thing from you.

[Gany]

Hi, I am constructing my house. As we are at the stage of roof I am faced with an issue.

We have a west facing site with entrance to the site on north west corner. So my underground sump in at the entrance towards north-west corner. This and basic design has results in my overhead tank in north east corner. This basically reduces the burden on water pump, reduces flow of water around the house, help in placement of solar panes/heater etc.

Now misses has come up with a new request(based on some inputs) on consideration of Vaastu. As per it OH tank can not be in north east corner, should be in south-west cornerinstead.

with the current design, it would be functionally and aesthetically ugly to place OH tank on SW corner. So I am working with my Architect on few options
1) Move the OH tank slight away from the NE corner, so it is more of north side
2) Also evaluating an option to move the OH tank to south east side again avoiding SE corner

I am not sure if I could describe it clearly. My question here is
a) Do anyone here have OH water tank at north east corner?
b) Anyyone here have OH tank on north east direction but not NE corner
c) Any one having OH tank on south-east side

My consideration with Architect on design is to maximise natural light, air circulation, reduce construction waste etc (to some extent green building). At the same time, can not brush away the concern raised!

Thanks in advance

[keroo1099]

Originally Posted by Gany

I am not sure if I could describe it clearly. My question here is
a) Do anyone here have OH water tank at north east corner?
b) Anyyone here have OH tank on north east direction but not NE corner
c) Any one having OH tank on south-east side

At the same time, can not brush away the concern raised!

Thanks in advance

The OHT can be placed anywhere on your roof if you go just by design. The moment Vasthu enters the picture you are limited to the SW quadrant of the house.

[condor]

Originally Posted by Gany

I am not sure if I could describe it clearly. My question here is

Gany, from what I have come across, let me share my 2p on your question.

Water is considered best in NE corner. Hence the sump / UGT is placed in NE corner of the plot.
SW corner is preferred to be the highest point of the land / building.

Most times the OHT is the highest point in the building. Hence the OHT is placed in the SW corner.

[jas_mirage]

Originally Posted by diyguy

Here are some of my to do list

Very nice points diyguy, Perimeter points for camera were not something I had thought of, actually my thoughts on security were non-existent till now.

Steel doors for security? Have to take a look into that, we have always used wooden doors, maybe with a sort of additional grill for the terrace door and kitchen door.

Originally Posted by amitk26

Till now I have taken care of the following

I have found a contractor and discussed some points with him. As I have a friend who works with a TMT manufacturer, I plan to supply the TMT.
Have not thought of a basement as yet, but was wondering, should I or shouldn’t I?
I like skylights, I like natural lighting. Have planned for lots of it.
Same with rainwater harvesting and Solar Panels

Have spoken to contractor about slag, he is worried about getting actual slag, as most of the slag in the market is adulterated. Any sources for slag in Kochi?

Interesting take on Grey water reuse. Have to look more into how to recycle it cost effectively.
Top floor inverted beams, check.
Filler slab roof design – Had to google it, looks brilliant. Have to speak to the architect/contactor about this. And my dad as well.
FRP sump is a yes.

I don’t know about concealed flushes, prefer to have the regular exposed one itself, for any worst case scenario’s. Used to have a concealed flush tank in our current house which broke down, so had to change the whole setup and put a regular closet with flush.
Noted with respect to the toilet positions and plumbing

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

Im not a fan of slope / slant concrete roofs.

I do plan on using the space on top for Solar panels, let me see the best way to get it done.
Any contacts for the solar work in Kochi?

Originally Posted by Aroy

Some provisions have to made at the time of construction and can not be retrofitted without excessive expense.

Solar Panels. Done. Do we need Solar water heating if we plan on having Solar panels?
Distribution pipes are planned for Internet & DTH.
Have to look into basic water treatment. For reusing the grey water at least.
No plans for elevator as of now.
Was planning the rain water harvesting tank under the main building itself. Wouldn’t have the space to keep it much away from the building.
High Overhead Tank, Check.

Originally Posted by condor

Please plan for

point for piped gas supply - Done
entry points for cables - Done
Terrace roof - a little slope to drain the water – The slope is a very practical suggestion

Avoid cabinets below sinks/washbasins - the water from washing the basins will damage the wood sheets over time. – I was looking at some rental houses for our transition period, and this point struck me.

Maintain electrical wiring diagrams. These will be needed later on – This was one of the biggest challenges in our old home.

Avoid double-height ceilings inside the house - is a big pain for cleaning and replacing any bulbs that are mounted from such ceilings. – Experienced that in our old house. We have one area planned in the new house, but it will be for a courtyard type space.

Ok. No Roma switches
Avoid mini fan regulators. The speed regulation is not linear. (we are using Panasonic) – Interesting point. By the way, is Panasonic recommended to buy or avoid?

Originally Posted by drsingh

Great suggestions in the thread. Few pointers from my side.

Love the valid points about the bathroom & Kitchen fittings, very often we tend to go for the European design without taking into account our usage & the services we can obtain from our local plumbers.

The plumbing shaft access is a good point, have seen it in buildings, but haven’t seen it in individual homes
All on board with your suggestions about the electricals and LED’s.
It is the first time, I have heard about BLDC fans, what brands are good? Are there any differences in terms of air throw compared to regular fans?
I do feel that a solar heater is redundant especially since I am planning Solar Panels at my home.
Fibreglass shelters for AC ODU’s brilliant idea.

Brass accessories are nice, but would they match with the design, or would we have to design around the fittings. That would be something to think about.

Yep, separate place for washing m/c. Actually, we plan to have a separate laundry room for itself.
There is always a dedicated wash basin outside the house, but the separate tank for it is a nice thought.
Redundancy in water storage, yes. We are used to having that. An underground water storage tank and two separate Overhead tanks are the norm for us.

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

Insulating pipes from water heater to tap is always a good idea

Insulating Hot water pipes. Interesting.

That is a very valid point you have mentioned about ventilation in the bathroom. Now that you have said it, I can imagine the flow of air as mentioned. And also that the Bathrooms now days have the ventilation fan right next to the windows, which doesn't work effectively.

Ceramic fittings now? Is this like the inside of the fittings used or the whole thing?

If you notice, most bathrooms are a square or rectangle of the four corners of the bed room. Instead of this, try a design where a part of bathroom projects out of the bedroom quadrilateral. This requires – Seems like you didn’t finish your sentence.

I loved the idea of putting a lid on the ventilation slots using hinges for closing when we use the A/C. But have you come across a mechanism where you can open or close the ventilation lids? Especially since they are so high up.

[jas_mirage]

I do realize that this is a consequent post, but since my previous post was multi quoted with a lot of responses I received, I would like this to be a separate reply.

When I first asked the question, what I had in mind was probably small small things. What I got was a huge repository of really amazing things that have done and thought of these marvelous BHPians

I would like to add a few tips from my side to the thread:

- In the bathrooms, tilt the ceiling over the shower alcove so that the front is higher than the back. Not by a lot, maybe 15 degrees, but this means that the shower has air currents driven by the heat of the shower water that drive moist air up and out, and if water does collect on the ceiling it will run to the back wall of the shower and drip down, instead of creating hanging drops.* This will give you mold-free showers.

- In the kitchen area have an outlet that's on the end cap of the cabinets just below countertop height, so you don't have to bend down to plug in the steam mop or vacuum and also don't plug in the dirty plugs over the kitchen counters.

- The bedrooms has small horizontal-pivot window panels above the main windows. Horizontal pivot means they open inward at the top and outward at the bottom, like a transom. This maximizes air exchange.

- Have skylights, and a light pipe running down to the basement.

- Have a drainboard routed into the countertop next to the kitchen sink (it looks like the normal steel kitchen sinks).*This means there is a bit of airflow under hot pans or wet colanders set down on the counter. More important, however, is the front groove, which is a couple of inches in from the front edge of the countertop, and connected to the corner of the sink.* Water on the countertop runs into the sink, not under the counter.

- There are two pendant task lights over the sink that align with the left and right edges of the sink, not one light right in the middle.* So, you can lean over and not cast a shadow. The lights are height-adjustable.

- Lighting for paths-of-travel is on a three-way switch.* Thus, there is a switch at the bottom of the basement steps for the basement lights, and another switch by the basement door to the outside. Turn on the light, walk through, turn off the light.

[condor]

Originally Posted by jas_mirage

Very nice points diyguy, Perimeter points for camera were not something I had thought of,

I like skylights, I like natural lighting. Have planned for lots of it.
Same with rainwater harvesting and Solar Panels

Solar Panels. Done. Do we need Solar water heating if we plan on having Solar panels?
Distribution pipes are planned for Internet & DTH.

Avoid mini fan regulators. ... By the way, is Panasonic recommended to buy or avoid?

@jas mirage - your post was like a summation of some good points

Perimeter points for cameras - please plan for suitable wiring now itself.

Distribution pipes for internet - plan to keep the Wifi router in a central place so that the coverage spans all corners of the house.

Skylights - make sure that the tiles are well seated and sealed so to not allow any moisture in between the tiles later. When the tiles are placed, would need to give it sufficient time for curing and setting. Even small gaps will result in some vapor formation later.

Solar Panels / Solar heating: Do you need heating in Kochi ?
regarding Solar panels - what do you use it for ? If you are referring to Solar Water heaters, then try to place the heater away from bedroom roof. I could be wrong here, but have found the room below the solar water heater to be relatively hotter in summer (than other rooms).

Fan regulators - Roma is now by Panasonic. So my reference was to mini-fan regulators that I have from Roma. But my situation was that this one was an after-thought to meet some changes in the room. I dont think you would be using a mini regulator since you are planning everything fresh.

[jas_mirage]

Originally Posted by condor

@jas mirage - your post was like a summation of some good points

Centralized WiFi router is exactly what I had in mind, we are currently facing the issue where WiFi does not reach all the rooms and we have to use 2 extenders to make sure we get WiFi everywhere.

Will make sure to speak to the contractor about the skylights at the right time.

We all enjoy a hot bath especially in the monsoons and when you have kids at home they sometimes require hot showers to clean them up.
Regarding the Solar panels I plan to use it for Solar power generation. Looking to do atleast 2kW of Solar panels on our roof area.

Currently am looking at BLDC Fans, so no need of a regulator. Still evaluating the pros & Cons of it though.

[diyguy]

Originally Posted by jas_mirage

Currently am looking at BLDC Fans, so no need of a regulator. Still evaluating the pros & Cons of it though.

I am using Superfan for the last three years and works flawless, good speed, larger fans have good throw and power consumption is really at 35-40w depending on the wingspan. We have 4 at home and 5 at my cousins place, all purchased about three years back. They look good too.