Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   Shifting gears (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifting-gears/)

-   -   Home Construction / Makeover / Maintenance Thread (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifting-gears/100713-home-construction-makeover-maintenance-thread-22.html)

Image attached. Something wrong with my app. Can the mods please merge.

Firstly, getting a site you want can be a bit of a crapshoot. Usually the developer has already cherry-picked sites and sold them at a higher price.

Some pointers:

Stay away from water bodies. The LDA has woken up just now and are surveying based on century-old documents. Anything abutting a lake will most probably be considered fully/partly encroached. In any case, I don't see any darker pink sites near the lake.

North East corner sites are gold and fetch a higher value on sale. If not a corner site, get an east facing site. Go with a compass/GPS/mobile and check for yourself. Avoid the south, the sun will make your life miserable.

Never take on the main road. Take one of the adjacent spurs.

In your case, I would say stay away from the apartments as well unless you are close to a park or something.

Finally, go or send someone you trust to the layout so that they can determine how things lie. The actual layout seldom looks the same way as on their map. If you go there, it is very easy to make a decision on the spot.

Thanks man for the pointers, looks like a few visits are in order...

Here a few pointers that I use
1. Have a South Facing plot. The advantages are
- Sun comes in winters but not in summer
- With sun, there will be less damp in the house
- Normally the front offset is the deepest, that lets you keep plants/garden in front.

2. Have a plot facing a reasonable sized park -
- No neighbours in front
- Extra parking in front
- Open space with greenery at no cost

3. Stay away from bigger roads
- Less through traffic
- Less chances of the pavements being reduced for road widening
- Less chances of casual thieves

4. If you can afford to (and the developers allows it), get two/4 adjacent plots. I think 2 Type 02 plots facing the park nearest from the secondary entrance are ideal.
- If there is a service lane then 4 in a row
- If there is no service lane then two+two back to back
- Use traditional Indian layout - a large open space in center with rooms all round. That gives you a private garden with safety. It also allows you to plan the rooms so that all get windows on the outside and a veranda on the inside. If toilets have a door to veranda, the cleaners need not go through the bedrooms

Maybe in Delhi, but here in Bangalore, South facing is out of favor because it is the hottest part of the house in the full glare of the sun. Plants do prefer more sun, but they also work quite well facing east.

In Bangalore, North East and East are preferred for vaastu purposes. South West and South are considered the worst. Real estate prices reflect this as well.

I know this layout and I daily travel to office through the adjacent road. Don't you think it is bit early to construct here, with not many neighbors and facilities.. It will be eerie feeling during nights!!

Yes I agree, but there are already about 10 houses there and I think a few families have been living there from a year or more. I am fed up paying huge rent and thought it's about time to spend the money on my own house instead...

Usually just one person constructing a house is all it takes to start a snowball effect.

If one can have a dog or two, safety, loneliness, etc. is not that bad.

I have no clue where this place is or how connected it is, but getting stuff for construction and later on for living (groceries, maids, etc.) can be a pain. However do note that even when I moved to a house in a fully developed layout, it took me about a year to get settled in.

Hey, I need a waterproofer reference from experience - someone reliable- in Bangalore for two small damp portions in an apartment where my parents live, Its just beginning to spread. Thanks in advance.

Looking for an answer to a slightly tangential question.

We are looking for a small and inexpensive, pre-fabricated cabin home at our farm in Karnataka. Something like 2 small rooms + open kitchen area + bathroom, ideally 250-300 sft. This will be used only for occasional stay whenever some one is visiting for work on the farm, so it will be sparsely furnished.

Looking at homes made of either container (steel) or bison (cement bonded particle) board. Does any one here have any suggestions on what would be more suitable, approx cost, etc? If you have a reliable contact, that would be hugely appreciated. In terms of climate, the area receives a lot of rainfall, but temperatures are moderate throughout the year.

Try to locate portable homes as used in project sites. They come in a variety of sizes. They are portable in the sense that large trailers carry them, and then at site they are lowered on to concrete blocks.

Anyone knows what's the best way to clean vitreous floor tiles to remove stains. There are some bad stains which aren't going with regular cleaners.

First put some full strength Harpic and let it soak for 30 minutes or so, and see if it goes.

Then try full strength Hydrogen Peroxide bleach. There is a brand called Germizol found in supermarkets.

If nothing works, then try Hydrochloric acid, but acid can also remove grout and the fumes could tarnish brass fittings. Most acid sold these days is dilute, the concentrated one is not easy to find.

There's a liquid available for such stains from Johnson Diversy and 3M. There is a bottle in my office, will snap and post tomorrow.

Thanks guys, will try it.