[balenoed_]

Originally Posted by Mortis

Hook it over each nut and then drag on the loops to cut through.

A picture would have spoken 1000 words.

The only thing that at least I understood is you want to remove 4 rusted bolt/nuts from a glass window? How expensive is to replace the glass itself if nothing works?

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Try drilling through the rusted bolts.

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by d.w.w.

There is a standard height for kitchen tops. I don't remember the exact number but it is 85 or 95 cm from the floor. When you add the granite sheet on top, this height will come up at least by an inch. Make sure this is not an uncomfortable height for ladies in the house.

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

Ask your wife about her comfort with existing counter height. Read up on kitchen ergonomics and counter heights. Rule of thumb is half of main user"s height plus 5 cm. But still lower - 80-85 cm for cooking area, 90-95 cm for sink and other working areas.

The kitchen countertops are at a height of 79cm. Wife is comfortable with this height and has not complained in the last 3years we have been here.

[Mortis]

Originally Posted by balenoed_

A picture would have spoken 1000 words.

The only thing that at least I understood is you want to remove 4 rusted bolt/nuts from a glass window? How expensive is to replace the glass itself if nothing works?

The issue is finding a guy to replace just that small window glass and drill holes for a new one. Most of the window guys i know are too busy for "chota kaam" . The redevelopment and construction boom in Mumbai is keeping them busy

[condor]

Guys, any leads for a good carpenter in Bangalore south for a small job to modify an old teak dining table ?

[subraiyr]

Originally Posted by condor

Guys, any leads for a good carpenter in Bangalore south for a small job to modify an old teak dining table ?

Looking for the same in South Bangalore as well. Reached out to a couple of them but not responding. Need to do a wood paneling for the Pooja room and make a square panel for the ceiling to mount lights - need help with quotations + execution. Do let me know of any tried and trusted carpenters.

I am also checking with Urban company, as of now no responses for this

[condor]

Originally Posted by subraiyr

I am also checking with Urban company, as of now no responses for this

If you are in an apartment building, keep checking if anyone is getting interior wood work for their apt. Then can reach out to that carpenter

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

I. Guess marble was all the fad in the 90s when my grandfather did some renovation work.

Yes, around that time marble was used all across - flooring in rooms, bathrooms, toilet walls, kitchen counter tops etc.

One issue with Marble is that, no matter how much you try to polish, it will fade off - unlike granite, where the surface is made smooth. The polishing in marble involves, well actually applying a polish.

Plus it tends to absorb bit of color items generally used. Hence invariably, your kitchen slab will have spots of yellow turmeric over a period of time.

For the replacement, I am guessing with 90s construction, it will be a concrete slab on top of which marble was put. So you can put your new slab on top of this marble.

However, you may find it bit of an issue to cover the sides and it may become to look like a DIY task if not properly done.

Also, the 90s kitchen cabinet sizes are not the same as the current days modular kitchen cabinet, so if you have any plan on repairing the cabinets, it may require moving the concrete slab + marble too.

So eventually it will come to how much trouble you are ready to go for this. Based on that you can get your options.

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Yes, around that time marble was used all across - flooring in rooms, bathrooms, toilet walls, kitchen counter tops etc.

Yes, when we had the modular kitchen guys come in for a visit initially, they said we will have to fully demolish the current structure!

Living in an ancestral house has it's issues with hands being tied as to what i can do and what i can't.

Breaking down the kitchen and all the marble was one of those things i could not do.

Heck, I was told not to do anything about the mosaic floor in the hall. (Got it tiled).

Anyway, was looking at simpler solutions but i guess that's a fantasy.

Was reading about epoxy coating that can protect the marble from food stains but wonder if we have qualified people to do the work.

Oh well...

[Mortis]

Ok guys we have an odd problem with the building water, most likely due to the repair work going on and I have most likely pinpointed the issue but I would like a 2nd opinion in case it doesn't work.

So our building is undergoing structural repairs including waterproofing of the terrace.
Now, Mumbai tap water has a normal TDS of 50-60ppm, however in 3 out of 4 bathrooms in the house, the TDS has been extremely high at 450-550, atleast since a month which is when I had my suspicions and started checking.
The water entering the terrace tank is normal at 50-60
Water inside the tank is around 100-120ppm. Obviously these chaps are dropping cement/sand that is raising the TDS plus they submerge a pump for watering the cement and what not maybe even bathing in it. Still not too abnormal and manageable.
Now here's the bit where it gets weird. From the tank the pipes go in a loop from bathroom to bathroom and finally terminate at the kitchen.
Bathroom 1 closest to the tank has similar tds of 100-120 as the tank.
Bathroom 2 has a TDS of 450+ and until 2 weeks ago, it too was lower at 100-120
Bathroom 3 has a TDS of 450+ as well.
Lastly the Kitchen - My brother has fitted a 3m sediment filter which also has some softening beads and the TDS at this tap is 250 ppm. However all the main lines branch out at the shaft and there is 1 pipe for every 2 floors with a valve, basically like an engine manifold. So just to double check I took a sample from the kitchen below mine which isn't covered by the filter and sure enough it too has a TDS of 450+ ppm.

The pipes on the terrace are PVC and splattered all over currently with cement and waterproofing material and so are the pipes in the shafts. However as far as I can tell there are no leaks anywhere other than maybe the joints from where if we were to assume the splattered cement was leaching in. Also no work was done during the time bathroom 2 transitioned from less dirty to more dirty. Let us also assume it's not got anything to do with the shaft pipes because bathroom 1 is less dirty and also due to the consistency in tds at other points.

What I assume has happened is that the main tank had or keeps getting contaminated with cement and sand this is raising TDS to 100-120. BUT a good amount of this cement/sand has washed into the terrace pipes and is acting like a reactor when it bunches up close to the "manifold" and thus raising TDS to 400+ in the lines concentrating. This sand slowly building up would explain how bathroom 2 gradually went up in TDS. Might even go to bathroom 1 but now pretty much all the cement work is done other than superficial plastering of the water tank itself externally so hopefully it won't. I also don't think the sand has made it past the manifold into the shaft pipes because I have coarse particulate filters in them which are clear.
The contractors and the structural engineers man on site are obviously what TDS is although I did give them a very simplified explanation. They do admit that the tank has been dirtied but are completely lost as to why it's going from 100 to 500 between the tank and bathrooms and why it's an issue in only some of the bathrooms and not all.

I still think my explanation of cement mix particles concentrating in the terrace pipes after getting washed out of the terrace tank makes the most sense. Looking for any suggestions on probable causes and solutions.

Do note that the terrace pipes only, till the manifold valves and not the shaft pipes are going to be changed from pvc to GI once ther tank plastering is done and will be moved from their current position of along the floor of the terrace to along the walls of the terrace. Planning on getting the terrace tank cleaned on the same day as the pipes are disconnected for replacement so that any residual material is washed out and don't collect in the new pipes.
Hopefully this will solve the issue in a week or two but in the meantime I'm looking for alternatives

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Normal practice is to leave some vertical space between floor of a tank and outlet pipes. Sediments collect below the outlet level and ought not enter the internal plumbing.

Well, if there is sediment in pipes, you need to clean them. It is simple.

Btw, I think the relevant BIS standard seems to suggest that you should have separate lines from tank to water heaters, flush tanks and rest of the uses. This is rarely followed anywhere. This is how it is at my house, and I'm retaining it during the current renovation.

US standards suggest a separate tank for water meant for drinking and cooking.

[carboy]

My kitchen sink flows down to the drain through a plastic pipe. A year back, I moved my washing machine to the kitchen, so at that time, instead of directly connecting the sink's plastic pipe to the drain as it was earlier, the plumber instead connected it to a plastic perpendicular joint so the washing machine outlet also goes to the same drain. There was also a problem of mouse coming in to the house through drain, so I added a stainless steel cup to the drain. Since the time I added that, mouse has stopped entering through the drain.

This is the cup - https://3.imimg.com/data3/CT/AA/GLAD...ap-250x250.jpg - except I that I removed the perforated lid & only use the cup which is placed on the drain & the plastic pipe is loosely fitted into the hole of the cup.

Now this whole setup seems very adhoc & is not easy to handle. Once a month or so, then plastic drain pipe chokes, occasionally, the pipe comes out of the joint & water flows out till I fit it back.

What can I do to make this more pukka & easily to use?

I am planning to call a plumber & ask him for ideas but I just wanted to check here if anyone has ideas?

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Originally Posted by carboy

... to call a plumber & ask him for ideas but I just wanted to check here if anyone has ideas?

The two pipes can connect to a T. The third point of the T can connect into a trap and the trap can empty into the usual waste hole.

Search the web for "P trap" and you'll get ideas.

Just two L aka elbows with large diameter curves. Connect them to form a U. You'll need another piece of PVC pipe. The T empties into one end of the trap and the other end of the trap goes into the old outlet. It is called a trap because it holds a bit of water. So vermin do not enter.

Hope you get the idea. Now, tell the plumber to make a T and a trap. Tell him to find fittings that can be opened for cleaning. How he builds it, is left to him. This will solve your problem.

Optionally, tell the ladies of the household that the lower tray of the sink is non removable for a reason - solids should not go into a kitchen sink, in India. I don't know what kind of problems this step will cause, but you really have no choice.

[carboy]

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

Search the web for "P trap" and you'll get ideas.

The mouse wasn't entering through the drain pipe. It was entering through the drain. So having a trap in the pipe won't help.

[Rodie09]

Seeking advise on Home Interior painting:

Friends,

I am planning to get my residence in Pune (3 BHK apartment) painted. Looking for getting a premium paint done - last done was Lustre (Oil based) and this time looking for water based. Got a few quotes below for Asian Paints and the choices for water based paints and as per market trends.

Asian Paints Aspira - Rs 32 per sq feet
Asian Paints Royale Luxury - rs 28 per sq feet

Just want to understand from experts here -

1) What can be my choices of paints if anymore? Am sure there must be similar products in other brands but looking only for only unique product not the variants in different brands

2) Whether the prices are in line with market rates in Pune?

Thanks!!