[Sran]

Originally Posted by suzuki san

5 Kva maximum. Enough to run 1 x 1.5T A.C., a fridge, lights, fans and a water pump. Is anyone here using a similar genset and if so, could you pass on any tips. Pros and cons. Running costs etc.
Regards,
SS

5KVA will have a load factor of 4000W and at max 4250W. The starting load of a 1.5 ton AC will only be met by 5KVA and nothing less but you will have to switch off everything before ac compressor kicks in. Ac also starts at a high of 20Amp, so also keep that in mind. Normal gensets do not produce electricity at uniform sine wave so electronics are susceptible to failure these days due to PCB's. If you have made up your mind for a genset then go for an inverter genset.

I would suggest to go for silent diesel generators, some of them have noise level near as low as 80dB. Check out KOEL(kirloskar) OEM's in your area, it is better than others but here are many silent generator OEM's like mahindra, eicher, greaves, yamaha etc. Go for whatever suits your budget, to my last knowledge of 5 years back none will cost more than 2.2 lakhs now, they were cheaper back then.

Originally Posted by Mortis

2) Can I fill up the old light cutouts and then recut the same area for the new lights. I'm ok with cutting out a large area for the patch. For example the light holes are 6 inches across. I don't mind cutting out a 12inch square for a replacement patch and then cutting the new size hole in that for the replacement light. This is what I meant, rather than remove the whole POP ceiling in the room. Light positions can't really be changed more than a few inches due to the wiring.

Nobody is talking about removing all false ceiling. The repairing will need to cut more than 12" square to get a hold, to the size of bracket to bracket however big or small they are, generally 2'×2'. Then you can install whatever size light wherever you wish. Light positions can be changed if you wish simply by adding wires, nothing to worry about adding wires.

[Haque]

Folks, how good are WPC doors+frames. Considering these for washroom doors for a unit under construction in Bangalore.
Has anyone experienced these? How is their lifespan, and how should their quality be assessed?

[suzuki san]

Originally Posted by Sran

5KVA will have a load factor of 4000W and at max 4250W. The starting load of a 1.5 ton AC will only be met by 5KVA and nothing less but you will have to switch off everything before ac compressor kicks in. Ac also starts at a high of 20Amp, so also keep that in mind. Normal gensets do not produce electricity at uniform sine wave so electronics are susceptible to failure these days due to PCB's. If you have made up your mind for a genset then go for an inverter genset.

I would suggest to go for silent diesel generators, some of them have noise level near as low as 80dB. Check out KOEL(kirloskar) OEM's in your area, it is better than others but here are many silent generator OEM's like mahindra, eicher, greaves, yamaha etc. Go for whatever suits your budget, to my last knowledge of 5 years back none will cost more than 2.2 lakhs now, they were cheaper back then

Thanks so much for the input Sran. I never knew there was such an animal as an Inverter Genset. Will definitely look into it. I guess a 7Kva genset is the way to go.

Cheers,
SS

[nirmaljusdoit]

Originally Posted by Haque

Folks, how good are WPC doors+frames. Considering these for washroom doors for a unit under construction in Bangalore.
Has anyone experienced these? How is their lifespan, and how should their quality be assessed?

WPC is water proof and contains very little wood/saw dust mixed in with polymers and bonding agents. Can be used for bathroom doors and frames.

It can be polished or you can apply laminate or veneer as well. Century and Greenply make door frames and doors. Couple of reliable dealers in Blore are Rohini in JP Nagar, Kohinoor in Jayanagar, Balaji on Infantry Road.

[abhinav.s]

Originally Posted by nirmaljusdoit

Awesome to know ! Please share some pics, would be useful ! Did they supply & install the grille as well ? What brand of profiles are they using ?

Not sure of the brand of profiles but they seem to be of a good quality and probably confirms to the norms of sound proofing and even to an extent maintaining the temperatures in the house. The grille was supplied and also installed by them. The only issue with the grille is that it is powder coated and cannot withstand moisture. To workaround that, we got it painted with the normal paint used for outside grilles to make sure they do not go bad with rain drops etc. Will try and post pics shortly.

[Sran]

Originally Posted by poloman

Any feedback on the exposed concrete finish, which is getting popular both in interiors and exteriors? Is this cost effective and easy to maintain?

Polo bhai, was talking with my architect friend and a builder friend and I asked them this question. Basically, we did not understand your question or requirement. But whatever we can make of it was, you are asking about uncemented or unplastered interior wall and ceilings, which today is in trend in restaurants, cafes, shared office spaces buildings and showroom etc. type of places. If this is the case then they advised to do it during shuttering of roof and to let contractor know about your plans so that good quality work can be done to minimize the gap. You will save money in material and labour cost when ceiling plaster is minimal and both advised against it in living space but can be done in commercial space.

We scratched our head a bit but could not understand what do you mean by exterior concrete finish. Do you want trowel or stucco finish?

[poloman]

Originally Posted by Sran

Polo bhai, was talking with my architect friend and a builder friend and I asked them this question. Basically, we did not understand your question or requirement. But whatever we can make of it was, you are asking about uncemented or unplastered interior wall and ceilings, which today is in trend in restaurants, cafes, shared office spaces buildings and showroom etc. type of places. If this is the case then they advised to do it during shuttering of roof and to let contractor know about your plans so that good quality work can be done to minimize the gap. You will save money in material and labour cost when ceiling plaster is minimal and both advised against it in living space but can be done in commercial space.

We scratched our head a bit but could not understand what do you mean by exterior concrete finish. Do you want trowel or stucco finish?

Yes, the same concept seen in industrial designs. Off late this trend has been creeping up in home designs as well. Don't think you will save much since proper finish will take extra labor and special finishing techniques. Yet to consult an architect or contractor. It is definitely not stucco.

Something like what you see in this house facade and interiors. I feel exposed brick and concrete go well together.

https://thearchitectsdiary.com/moder...cy-traanspace/

[keroo1099]

Originally Posted by poloman

Something like what you see in this house facade and interiors. I feel exposed brick and concrete go well together.

https://thearchitectsdiary.com/moder...cy-traanspace/

I really can't tell from the link, but it could just be well done fine stucco left bare, or could be form finished concrete for which is expensive (the formwork is expensive), and you need a contractor who specialises in that kind of work. You should find exposed concrete houses in the link below

https://www.contemporist.com/

[Sran]

Originally Posted by poloman

Don't think you will save much since proper finish will take extra labor and special finishing techniques. Yet to consult an architect or contractor. It is definitely not stucco.

Something like what you see in this house facade and interiors. I feel exposed brick and concrete go well together.

https://thearchitectsdiary.com/moder...cy-traanspace/

The brick work is done using special method known as Corbelling. I have it in my other house's balcony. If I remember correctly the bricks were specially made to order for this purpose back then 30 years ago and are different in texture than what we generally find here. You can also look for yesteryear design of aggregate plaster on exterior wall, they looked good when painted white.

IMO these grays colours of concrete looks dull and boring. Grey is a sad colour. Some study on effects of colour on mind. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17641457/

[poloman]

Originally Posted by Sran

The brick work is done using special method known as Corbelling. I have it in my other house's balcony. If I remember correctly the bricks were specially made to order for this purpose back then 30 years ago and are different in texture than what we generally find here. You can also look for yesteryear design of aggregate plaster on exterior wall, they looked good when painted white.

IMO these grays colours of concrete looks dull and boring. Grey is a sad colour. Some study on effects of colour on mind. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17641457/

I am not going to use concrete pattern through out. Planning plastered white painted interiors.

The concrete surfaces to be used for highlighting certain areas like a double height courtyard facade. Also plan to use it in exteriors for contrast.
Grey may be sad color. But lot of cotemporary designs use it to get a rustic industrial look. It is a matter of personal choice anyway.

Photo credit to respective owners

[Sran]

Originally Posted by poloman

Grey may be sad color. But lot of cotemporary designs use it to get a rustic industrial look. It is a matter of personal choice anyway.

Yes yes of course. In no way my idea was to criticize your choice or offend you. I merely stated my opinion and I take it back.

[amitk26]

Originally Posted by poloman

Any feedback on the exposed concrete finish, which is getting popular both in interiors and exteriors? Is this cost effective and easy to maintain?

Exposed concrete is a very good idea at concept level and is eco-friendly since you are reducing overall cement usage in plastering.
But execution in small project is very challenging. My original design was exposed brick + exposed concrete finish for columns and beams. As i wanted the exterior surface to be as maintenance free as possible.

Few points :

1. Exposed concrete has to be casted in M25 as per code , usually for G+ 3 /4 residential structure M20 is recommended but for exposed concrete M25 is must the overall cost difference will not be hardly 200 Rs per cubic meters.

2. The shuttering for concrete has to be very good quality. Usually in wood based shuttering used in residential houses there are misalignment and surface undulations at joints which get covered by plaster. There is no scope of this cover-up in exposed concrete.

3. Cement colour even for same brand varies as per batch. For small projects you usually buy in batch of 100 bags and casting gets spread over months resulting in colour change of concrete surface.

4. Usually in small residential houses conduits for electrical and plumbing are never well planned. Architects do not pay much attention to this and usually modifications have to be done at site as per requirements.

This poses a challenge for exposed concrete finish. You need to plan for the conduits at casting stage as there is no scope to cut groves and cover up later.

5. Workmenship for casting has to be top notch specially for beam surfaces. Columns are cast using steel boxes so generally get good finish but shuttering formed using plywood and nails gets shifted by 1/2 to 1 inch and it looks ugly after casting.

So after finishing the structure and seeing the results I gave up idea of exposed concrete and did stone butch work cladding on concrete surface ( instead of plaster).

If you have noticed exposed concrete is mostly there in in big public buildings like IIM- Bangalore library is exposed concrete + stone.
There they use big metal forms for casting and concrete pour for big chunks is done in single day using pumps. For residential project RMC and pump is feasible only for footings and slabs but not for columns , lintel and beams.

What is usually seen in houses and villas is faux exposed concrete using wood cement sheets covering imperfections of casting.

Edit: see the picture you have pasted carefully its actually not exposed concrete finish but wood cement board (V-board/bison/shera board) sheets pasted as cladding on wall

[poloman]

Originally Posted by amitk26

Exposed concrete is a very good idea at concept level and is eco-friendly since you are reducing overall cement usage in plastering.
But execution in small project is very challenging. My original design was exposed brick + exposed concrete finish for columns and beams. As i wanted the exterior surface to be as maintenance free as possible.

Thanks Amith, That was really enlightening. I was expecting this kind of feedback. Always thought this will be challenging and more complex than normal plaster. May have to drop this or limit to something like cladding or tiles which resemble this finish.

I have some Bangalore houses in architecture websites who have executed this beautifully. May be they are all some cladding or similar fake finishes.

Weathering steel or corten steel was another surface which I liked. But understood that it is even more problematic with issues like staining adjacent areas, cost escalation, maintenance etc.

[Emvi]

Posting an interesting YouTube link received via WhatsApp. With their technology, the company claims speedy, cost effective construction solutions. The video is in Kannada, non-natives may follow the subtitles.

https://youtu.be/m87UCucbUZs

Disclaimer: I am neither associated with the company, nor have I used their construction materials or services.

[adi.mariner]

There was a building across the road behind which were rhe Railway tracks. The building was acting as a buffer and reducing the sound coming because of the passing trains. But now the building has been demolished and the train sound has increased exponentially. Keeping the sliding windows closed also doesn't help a lot. Any solution to this problem would be appreciated.