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Thanks! It sinks about an inch or two every year. We don't stay there, so I don't have proper details. I'll PM you soon.

Thank you! Would a person dealing at such networth cater to some middle class man like me?

Yes, that picture you posted is very close to how I envision the house.

Well, I've been meaning to dig into container home builders/designers in India. I want to visit a couple of container homes to see if it's feasible to live inside one.

Are there any in India?

I don't think container homes would work for long term living, but would make a good vacation home.

Btw, the cost of a used shipping container is just 60k. I have been enquiring, although I don't have any immediate plans to build one.

Thank's Everyone.

We have a small bunglow, only ground on a 10.75 ×15.

I wanted to experiment, something inexpensive as for 1st floor.

Their is a new company which makes gypsum walls, http://www.frbl.co.in
Also thought of container homes.

But only did research, and now project is in abeyance.

Surely will be doing white concrete floor, with polish. This is low cost & new.

Anything related to low cost housing, am in.

Lately I see precast concrete panels for fencing.

Walls & slabs are being produced, but only by few companies.

My Father build this house almost himself, it was normal 30 years back, now I want to carry the Tradition.

Read up on Laurie Baker low cost construction techniques. I had used 2 of those techniques in a similar situation (adding 1st floor on existing house) about 20 years back:
* brick lattice hollow walls (bricks on end, creating air pockets in walls)
* sandwiched clay tile hollow concrete roof (Mangalore clay tiles in between the structural rods in the roof steel lattice)

Never needed AC in that house in summer, despite having abundant natural light from dawn to dusk (large windows, french windows). Saved me a pretty packet in construction and material cost, though I had to train and convince the masons.

Rough stone pillars (2" x 4" section) are a better alternative for compound wall than precast concrete. Much more durable in areas with large temperature variation and good rainfall, and of course a well made stone pillar wall looks classy.

Amazing wealth of information Sir, Thanks a ton !!!

I will be emailing COSTFORD http://www.costford.com/FAQ.html

I recently got wooden windows and frame done in my rented flat. I'm now planning to get 2 jaali doors (wire gauge) on the balcony side. Thing is that all the wood is prone to getting wet during rains.

Since mine is a rented flat, what would be the cheapest trick to coat the wood and avoid damage from rains.

I'm not sure how much a primer or paint costs but would like to minimize the cost to whatever extent possible and coat the wood somehow.

Another question, I've seen and used white cement a lot. I wanted to fill some gaps between the wooden frame and wall but was told by someone that instead of using white cement to do it, why don't I get chalk (or chowk) mitti, he said its what clay is.

So its white cement kind of thing but readymade, I don't have to mix water or anything. What's the local name for it? Do I go looking for chalk mitti?

chalk mitti is essentially a filler. I don't think it will be able to do the same job that the cement can do.

Redoing the first floor kitchen at home. Require a contact who can do LPG piping from ground to first floor. Let me know if any contacts in Bangalore.

For filling crack.
1) Crack seal https://www.asianpaints.com/products...rack-seal.aspx
2)You can also use wall care putty.
3) For better performance add Dr Fixit liquid + wall care putty/ white cement.

For Wooden Door.
1) Oil paints are irreversible.
2) If going back to a lighter shade then primer helps as it is white, otherwise direct paint coat.
3)You can also use touchwood exterior to preserve the natural look. Self primer. Pidilite is cheaper. Also have some saw dust + fevicol at hand to fill wooden gaps.
https://www.asianpaints.com/products...r/explore.aspx

Finally:
Crack seal and touchwood exterior 2 liter is good enough, 1liter thinner, masking tape, a brush size smaller than the opening of touchwood tin, ask for Chauhan make & gloves.

Had this done recently. You can contact Anil - 93437 85723 or 99022 94442.
He was referred by another friend in a long chain of referrals :)

Thanks got the work done today. Happy with the outcome.

Hello guys, planning for a little makeover of the floor of our home. Want to swap the 28 years old mosaic with high quality vitrified tiles. Any pointers for the following questions will be very helpful. :)

1. Should we go for a complete relaying where the old mosaic flooring is taken off and the new tiles are laid on top of concrete? Or should the tiles be stuck over the existing floor using adhesives? Some contractors I talked to recommended the latter. Don't mind the slight delay or effort required for the first option.
   
2. Which brand of tiles should we pick? Looking for white tiles with minimal designs/ patterns. It should be durable and of good quality with a very flat surface.

I'm re-doing the bathroom+toilet at my parent's place at JP Nagar 7, Bangalore. Recommendations for a professional services of a tile-laying worker, plumber and civil worker please?

I also plan to have one of the walls of the shower to be stacked of glass bricks (properly sealed, of course), is this a bad idea -- construction-wise? Are the glass bricks cemented with white cement and is it a problem with the moisture around it?

If its a 28 year old mosaic flooring on first or above floors, I will blindly take the adhesive approach.
However you usually need to adjust the leveling of the surface to fit the tiles properly. Especially if you are looking at big sized (usually thicker and good quality) 2X2 or 3X3 tiles you definitely need this. Show it to a good tiles fitting guy.
If you want to go with adhesive approach, you might have to settle down with 1X1 or 1X1.5 sized tiles.
As far as brand is concerned, there are so many and available from all corners of world. You can get tiles starting from Rs 25 to Rs 500 per sq ft. See the availability near your area. As per my experience Rs 70-100 range is the good enough.

This option is very popular 'cause the contractors make more money. What this option does is that it takes away any sort of sound insulation between the two floors, cause once the contractor starts stripping he cannot control the depth of floor that will come off. On the stripped floor he will sprinkle some sort of 'masala' to even it out and then lay the tiles.

Neither will he ever get the level right and every movement on the upper floor will reverberate on to the floor below, especially when you drop anything even a coin, walk in heels, drag a chair etc. The vitrified tile is but a cake baked from clay and air it is essentially hollow and unlike the dense concrete amplifies the sound passing through. I found this out the hard way.

Further if the floor is 28 years old then 99% it would have been played with perfect levelling. Get the level checked and if found right simply lay the tiles over to get the best of both Worlds.

Yet another way of doing this is not to take off the entire flooring but chipping it all over with small indentations maybe 1/4" (or less) deep. This allows for the adhesive to have more bite while retaining the dense concrete below.

BTW have you considered pre polished and pre cut marble tiles. I have these and even after 15 years of usage the marble still has the original shine and looks far better than some other places where we laid tiles not that many years ago.