[Funny]

Originally Posted by deetee

I have to decide between Berger PU Roofkoat and Asian paints dampproof ultra. Both offer similar warranty and temparature reduction.
Please share your experiences of using either one.

Haven't used either of the above, I recently got the roof water proofing done for a new house using Dr.Fixit Roofseal Classic which was recommended by my painter and hardware supplier over Asian Paint's Damp proof. Have done two coats and it seems to have come out well. Roofseal is thicker and costlier than Damp-proof and comes with 7yrs warranty IIRC. Actual effectiveness is not known yet since my house is yet to witness the rains.

[Capri89]

Originally Posted by Funny

Haven't used either of the above, I recently got the roof water proofing done for a new house using Dr.Fixit Roofseal Classic which was recommended by my painter and hardware supplier over Asian Paint's Damp proof. Have done two coats and it seems to have come out well. Roofseal is thicker and costlier than Damp-proof and comes with 7yrs warranty IIRC. Actual effectiveness is not known yet since my house is yet to witness the rains.

Didn't have a good experience with Dr. Fixit. Within the warranty period had peeling issues. When escalated to the company directly, they refused to take responsibility and blamed the contractor for the shoddy job. Ultimately the warranty was never honoured.

[ninjatalli]

Guys,
We are employing a tiler to do re-tiling of our 3 bathrooms. The work includes removing the existing floor & wall (smaller) tiles and getting new 2x4 larger tiles put.

The generic process I have got to understand with regards to the tiling is as below
1. Current tiles will be demolished/removed.
2. Western toilets & fittings will be removed; plus one of the bathroom has a tub that we want to be removed/demolished.
3. Floor levelling will be done.
4. New tiles will be laid.
5. Additional grouting/epoxy filling will be done on tiles post which the painting process will start across the house.

Any words of advice I need to adhere to with regards to the tiling work efforts? We are looking at matt finish 2x4 tiles. We have been told the timelines would be roughly 1 week per bathroom. We are getting the tiles and materials required. Trying to understand any pitfalls to avoid with regards to this process (e.g. the floor leveling needs to be done properly so that water outflow happens naturally and not stagnant).

[deetee]

Originally Posted by Funny

Haven't used either of the above, I recently got the roof water proofing done for a new house using Dr.Fixit Roofseal Classic which was recommended by my painter and hardware supplier over Asian Paint's Damp proof. Have done two coats and it seems to have come out well. Roofseal is thicker and costlier than Damp-proof and comes with 7yrs warranty IIRC. Actual effectiveness is not known yet since my house is yet to witness the rains.

How did you know it is thicker than dampproof? Asking because unless we compare side by side on same test surface we can't know that.
Dampproof comes with 10yr warranty.

I am going with dampproof for my application, will update after a few months of usage.

[Yieldway17]

I have a couple of questions on a renovation work needed for our apartment.

The list of works needed are:

1. Kitchen needs a wholesale renovation after 12 years of renting + our use.
   1. All closets (which are cheap material) are broken, so they need to be replaced.
   2. A full layer of painting is needed.
   3. Kitchen counter height needs to be raised as currently the height is low and causes back pain
   4. Plan a dedicated space for dishwasher and related plumbing.
   5. Plan a dedicated space for RO water purifier and related plumbing.
   6. Doing 4 and 5 will require removal and reinstall of kitchen sink and related plumbing.
   7. Optionally a chimney installation (it has complications because of current kitchen window design)
2. Remove the Pooja closet from current place and install a new one elsewhere
3. Install a new book + toy shelf

Questions are

1. How do I go about finding right companies/people to work on this? I talked to a couple of interior decorator companies but they mostly deal with only the interior design and install and not painting, masonry, plumbing etc. and say they can recommend but they don't want to own up the entire process.
2. Are there so called General Contractors in our cities who can take up the entire work and own the delivery? I want to talk to some so they can visit and provide quotations for the work. (I would be thankful in knowing any trusted ones in Chennai thru DMs.)
3. How to choose the right material to use for the very harshly used kitchen cupboards and drawers?

I'm kind of stuck on where to start with this. Thanks.

[speed79]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Any words of advice I need to adhere to with regards to the tiling work efforts?.

Unless you have super large bathrooms, 2x4 ft tiles might be too large a size as the tiler would need to cut part of tile to accomodate taps etc. It is difficult to estimate the exact location of the cuts to accomodate several of them im a single tile.

Please use anti skid tiles for the floor. Matt does not always mean anti skid tile.

My estimate to remove old tiles, level the floor properly and placing new ones should not take more 2 or 3 days for one bathroom. One week per bathroom seems to be there to inflate the quote.

You should also consider replacing all wash basins and water closets, else you might feel the need to do that again soon.

[Funny]

Originally Posted by deetee

How did you know it is thicker than dampproof? Asking because unless we compare side by side on same test surface we can't know that.

I am unable to locate the technical documents of both the products to compare but my assessment was based on multiple online reviews and my painter's prior experience of using both products for application. You can check the below video which mentions about the thickness of the two products.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DInTGgxFE1E

[Rodie09]

Can anyone suggest a DIY solution to waterproof the water tank of a desert cooler? The cooler is made of GI sheet, the bottom tank is a separate piece, and the tank is showing some rusting and may be some small perforations. What would be the best way to coat it with a waterproofing material?

DIY is preferred.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by speed79

Unless you have super large bathrooms, 2x4 ft tiles might be too large a size as the tiler would need to cut part of tile to accomodate taps etc. It is difficult to estimate the exact location of the cuts to accomodate several of them im a single tile.

Please use anti skid tiles for the floor. Matt does not always mean anti skid tile.

My estimate to remove old tiles, level the floor properly and placing new ones should not take more 2 or 3 days for one bathroom. One week per bathroom seems to be there to inflate the quote.

Thank you - this was helpful. We have scaled down to 1x2 ft tiles in line with our bathroom size(s) and with the feedback of the tiler.

And yes, matt tiles were for the walls; floor tiles would be anti-skid only. Should have been more clearer. As for the timelines, have spoken to 3 tiler(s); all 3 of them have given similar estimates (min 15 days to max 3 weeks). So I guess it's probably with respect to the work at hand.

[One]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Thank you - this was helpful. We have scaled down to 1x2 ft tiles in line with our bathroom size(s) and with the feedback of the tiler.

As for the timelines, have spoken to 3 tiler(s); all 3 of them have given similar estimates (min 15 days to max 3 weeks). So I guess it's probably with respect to the work at hand.

Would personally prefer 2x2 size as that reduces the grouting needed and is more aesthetically pleasing.

One step which seems to be missing in your list of steps is keeping water on the floor after tiles are removed to see if the underlying "koba" is cracked causing seepage to the house below. If there is no seepage for a couple of days, one can resume work as usual.

In addition to the gradient you mentioned for the floor, ensure that the drain for the water on the floor is close to the corner walls where the gradient dumps water. If it is a few inches off the correct position, then you will find water getting accumulated between the drain and corner.

The timeline (including leaving water for a couple of days) seems correct.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Any words of advice I need to adhere to with regards to the tiling work efforts?

Make sure the position of all taps are at standard height from the floor so that they are around the tile grout joints and not too far away from the edge of the tile. This will ensure the aesthetic part. Also make sure the tiler has the necessary tools to make the openings for taps and pipes, many of these guys end up doing jugaad and cutting away small pieces of tiles and then fixing them around the pipe making them look ugly. Maybe you can even check with the tile store/vendor if they can have these openings in the tiles done with good machines after taking accurate measurements and then brought over to the house for fixing.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Tankless Toilets

It looks as if one of our toilets (western WC) has to be replaced as it is developing several cracks. Something that I expect to last a lifetime made it for about 15 years. Might be the fitting, of course: that bathroom also has a basin which is damaged because steel screws were used to fix it.

Does anyone know anything about tankless toilets? It looks like they are expensive: why, aren't they simpler? Anyway, it is a tiny bathrooms (and I don't really see the point in big ones) and the smaller simpler unit would be nice.

I heard of them for the first time today, so I am a total novice.

It seems that they require higher water pressure: we have a pressure pump. If I recall correctly, it is set to 1.5 or 2 bar. Is that enough?

Some kind of valve is there within the the toilet-bowl body. What happens when this goes wrong, or gets clogged? Our water is not clean.

[deep_bang]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Some kind of valve is there within the the toilet-bowl body. What happens when this goes wrong, or gets clogged? Our water is not clean.

The ones we have at home are driven by larger pipes (2 inch ones if I recall). I am not sure having a pressure pump with smaller pipes will equate to 2 inch pipes. I would suggest to always stick to the basics and do what's standard as it not only simplifies installation but also the support/maintenance later. The standard practice is to lay a 2 inch pipes and the valves also are available. We have jaquar ones that are working well over the last decade. Also, jaquar or any reputed valves will also means any failures like stuck valves etc can be fixed with the right parts without breaking up the walls/tiles etc. So absolutely important is to get reputed brands for the valves .

[the_joker]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Tankless Toilets

Does anyone know anything about tankless toilets? It looks like they are expensive: why, aren't they simpler?

Some kind of valve is there within the the toilet-bowl body.

We had a tankless toilet.

Ours is a flat in a 4 floor apartment on the 2nd floor. We don't have a pressure pump. The only requirement for that is pipes should be 2" or larger.

Instead of a flush tank, there is a spring loaded valve that you press to open. Ours was mounted on the wall exactly where a flush tank would be. We had lots of issues with the spring, it would need tightening every 6 months or so(otherwise, the pressure is too low to clean the toilet properly. It would go bad every 2 - 3 years, and had to get it replaced. Finally, we explored replacing the entire valve system, but it proved too expensive (6k - 7k, I think). So, we removed the valve, and put a flush tank at that location, and changed the toilet. It is working fine for now.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Tankless Toilets
…

I’m not a fan of these concealed flushes, these days even the body of these fittings is plastic and the parts inside too, they can go wrong easily and often, and since they’re concealed it can become a big headache to refit/repair/redo, not to mention expensive as well.

Having said that, I would say do check multiple brands including the high end ones before you make a decision.

Nothing like good quality ceramic flush tanks, at least you can do DIY work to replace their plastic innards