Team-BHP - Home Construction / Makeover / Maintenance Thread

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aroy (Post 3956235)

The chemical will be injected at high pressure and seals all the micro cracks in the structure. That will not only prevent water seepage due to capillary action, but also stop termite infestation, as they will have no route to enter through the microscopic cracks in the wall.

Termites are not an issue and this as told, is not restricted to my house, but the entire area. Will getting a new plaster done, help in this case?

I think I will go with marble for floor, which marble?

And thanks everyone for their views :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sheel (Post 3956828)

Get the water proofing done before new plaster. Even though plaster requires regular watering for curing, if there is seepage/weeping of water the new plaster will not bed properly and may flake in future.

Marble. I prefer white but some like Italian which is a bit yellow. Just note that Italian is a fragile marble and all those beautiful designs are cracks in stone (just check the slabs, they have a backing sheet and the cracks are sealed with chemicals), so go for Indian variety. There is also Australian White Marble which you can investigate, it is a bit harder than Indian Marble so should stay polished longer.

Quote:

I think I will go with marble for floor, which marble?

I will agree with others for going with Marble over tiles. The quality of labour is only deteriorating and with the tiles, it will be a hard time to ensure there are no bends or joints are done properly unless you go for small size which won't look that nice in the house.

Essentially we have 3-4 broad marble categories- Low-Cost Indian - which comes from Rajasthan , Mid Quality Indian - like wonder marble again from Rajasthan - this will be twice or three times low quality , go for this only if you like the looks which are not to everyone's liking, though.Top grade Indian will be Makrana stuff which might be very hard to get as this is mostly exported and you need to have someone known to you - this can cost 20-40 times the cost of regular stuff.

Then we have a whole range of Imported stuff which will be either from Egyptian region, starting price of this in Delhi is around Rs 100 or so going to Rs 150 -200 depending on the colour , texture , faults.

Going up in Imported range will be Italian marbles which have different names - you can find here. I can recommend Botticino Marble light shades - this should cost Rs 180-Rs 250 depending on the lot.

For kitchen & toilets, you can have mixture of coloured ones ( mostly Spanish ) and you can even pick something for front / rear facade ( Travertine) if you have enough funds :)

One of most expensive but very soothing is Statuario Marble this can start from 500 or so going up to 2000 or so -

some links

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...f_marble#Italy

http://www.italianmarble.co.in/italian-marbles/

http://www.italianmarble.co.in/statuario-marble/

Our apartment is on the top floor and the bedrooms face the west. In this summer, the temperatures are becoming unbearable. We planned to go or sun reflective white coat on the terrace to reduce the heat.

In my hometown, the practice is to mix white cement or Surya Cool with fevicol and apply 2 coats on the roof. It used to work quite well. But my husband says we should go for polymer paints like Excel cool coat (http://www.roofcoatings.co.in/excel-cool-coat.html). His arguments in favor of it is long life and high SRI (Solar Reflective Index). The cost of such paints is about 18k for the whole terrace.

My questions..
1. Are there any real advantages of using such polymer paints over something like Surya cool? Is the SRI of such paints so high as compared to the traditional solutions like Surya cool?
2. The cost of the polymer paints like Excel Cool coat is almost 15 times the cost of applying Surya Cool. Surya Cool type of coats require to be redone every year. What about the polymer paints? They might not wash away but the brightness would certainly dull down, due to dust and other factors. Wouldn't that bring the SRI down?
3. Are there any other heat reflective coatings suggested? Please note that terrace is a common area in our apartment and few kids in our apartment are very destructive.. and that's putting it mildly :D

Polymer paints will never match the VFM of traditional solutions. If traditional application is 15 times less expensive, go for it.

One thing in your favour is that in long term, you will be renewing the traditional paint every two or three years, that takes care of reflectivity, as polymer paint will grow dull with time. So the whole life time costs are in your favour.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pallavi (Post 3958403)

My questions..
1. Are there any real advantages of using such polymer paints

...
other heat reflective coatings suggested? Please note that terrace is a common area in our apartment and few kids in our apartment are very destructive.. and that's putting it mildly :D

This is not the answer you are looking for, but ...
Why not put a sheet roof over the terrace? (This will allow the kids to play in the shade) and it will keep your apt cool.

[Every summer, I look up such passive cooling solutions and I read about the heat reflective paint. Don't remember the details, but I think I dismissed it after reading something about how the reflectivity fades with time. :D - basically, you'd have to keep the surface clean and/or reapply the coating. GIYF!]

There was also some research which made use of a sort of wicking principle where a layer of bricks would slowly wick water to the roof, which would then evaporate cooling the roof - not sure if this will cause other problems.

Shade sails are a popular solution in South Africa - basically a giant umbrella over the building.

Good Luck!

Quote:

Originally Posted by ritz3645 (Post 3957831)

May I ask why laminate flooring are not common except high end showrooms. They are not so expensive anymore and are durable. This can also be a diy project. Or is it the walking noise an irritation.

link : http://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/roo...inate-flooring

I have an inkling about this - for one, those are more expensive as floor laminates see a lot of traffic compared to walls.

Second, it seems to me the glues appropriate for applying laminates to concrete floors are either not easily available (not manufactured here) or are extremely expensive.

And third, most likely the workmen are told that this will not work (possibly true with the combination of laminates available, the glues and techniques known to them), so to keep customers from complaining later about bad floors, they simply avoid the risk of trying out something new.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mvadg (Post 3959047)

And third, most likely the workmen are told that this will not work (possibly true with the combination of laminates available, the glues and techniques known to them), so to keep customers from complaining later about bad floors, they simply avoid the risk of trying out something new.

Our rented home had mosaic floors on the duplex floor. The owner got a laminate done. It looks decent but does not feel durable. For e.g. you cannot drag a study desk across it as it will scratch and or tear the laminate entirely. We've also not been able to really clean it completely. If we walk barefoot, the wooden laminate faux print, makes our feet black. Its been three years we've been here now and it is still the same. No amount of mopping has made if feel as clean as the marble flooring in the rest of the house.

Thanks for your suggestions. My replies inline..

Quote:

Originally Posted by mvadg (Post 3958951)

This is not the answer you are looking for, but ...
Why not put a sheet roof over the terrace? (This will allow the kids to play in the shade) and it will keep your apt cool.

The terrace is common for 3 apartments in the top floor and none are ready to spend on cooling solutions. So we are just going to get our part of the terrace painted. Not an optimum solution, i know but any kind of relief is welcome in this heat.

[Every summer, I look up such passive cooling solutions and I read about the heat reflective paint. Don't remember the details, but I think I dismissed it after reading something about how the reflectivity fades with time. :D - basically, you'd have to keep the surface clean and/or reapply the coating. GIYF!]

This is true and a coat must be reapplied every year if it is white cement mixed with fevicol. The polymer paints company is giving us 3yrs warranty but there is none on paper, the main reason for posing these questions to the forum.

There was also some research which made use of a sort of wicking principle where a layer of bricks would slowly wick water to the roof, which would then evaporate cooling the roof - not sure if this will cause other problems.

We already have slight water seepage problem. Dont want to add anything which will compound the problem.

Shade sails are a popular solution in South Africa - basically a giant umbrella over the building.

Not practical in our area or even in our building. We are trying to get the building painted for the past 4yrs and only 2 other apartment owners were willing to pay the painting charges.. just to give an idea of the penny pinchers in question lol:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pallavi (Post 3961044)

Thanks for your suggestions. My replies inline..

Then, I suggest white tiles - will last longer and easier to cleanup.

or Grow some potted plants / creepers on the roof - there is one that grows wild and all by itself climbing walls and covering houses with its shoots like a carpet.

or
Hang some clotheslines and put some large tarpaulins to "dry" on the lines, effectively forming a shade sail of sorts.

Seems others have used these ideas before I thought of them :D
http://www.thehindu.com/features/hom...cle5814207.ece

http://www.agronetindia.com/sun_shade_net.html

Quote:

Results show that, when vegetation density is high, the incoming heat into the building through the roof is 60% lower than the incoming heat without vegetation. Researchers found that a roof with a high density vegetation works as a passive cooling system; in fact, the energy released from the building through the roof during the summer is 9% of the incoming energy during the same period.

http://phys.org/news/2015-04-passive...een-roofs.html

http://www.downtoearth.org.in/covera...ool-idea-39188

http://business.inquirer.net/115499/...-cooling-power

Now you know how much I hate that white paint idea!!!

Am in the market for tiles for my new house. After much consideration, I have gravitated towards vitrified tiles. But confused about a lot of things.

Kajaria vs Somany vs Nitco vs Asian vs various imported brands

Glossy vs satin matte (no rough finishes)

Printed vs double charge vs full body

People who has shopped for tiles recently, please help me.

I was wondering how long it takes to paint (the insides) of a house with 5 rooms. The painters have given me an estimate of 15 days because according to them, it takes three days per room - one day to sandpaper the walls, one day to putty, and the third day (and maybe fourth) to primer and paint.

Is this excessive or am I asking a stupid question?

Thanks and cheers