[Guite]

With due respect to Aroy, I think the BOQ route is a bit too complicated for the average layman. Let’s take few examples:
RCC work in columns, beams and slab (merged for simplicity) - qqq cubic metre @ Rs xxx per cubic metre.
Full brick work nnn @ Rs yyy per cubic metre.
Wall plaster mmm @ Rs zzz per sq metre.
These are just few items, there are many more items to complete construction of a house.

Now would drhoneycake be comfortable checking the above quantities and rates? That is why a per plinth area rate quotation is much simpler and comfortable for most home owners.

Coming to drhoneycake’s original question, Rs 1670 per sqft seems reasonable, but it also depends on location and quality of material. You should ask for list of materials like: make / brand of cement, steel, sanitary fixtures, tiles, hardware; what quality of stone/ marble/ granite, etc. The biggest cost item for which you have no way of checking unless you engage an engineer is quality and quantity of reinforcement steel, and cement sand stone chips mix in reinforced concrete work. Measurements of sqft area and extra items: you should discuss and agree. Area measurement could be inclusive of walls because that’s standard practice. If there is no extra items as you have listed he will of course increase his per sqft rate.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by Guite

With due respect to Aroy, I think the BOQ route is a bit too complicated for the average layman. Let’s take few examples:
....

The per square foot method leaves a lot of questions unanswered :

. What is the brand of cement and steel
. What quality of sand - washed river sand or sand full of salt. Further the grade of sand used for various works and the cement to sand ratio - Mortar, Plaster and concrete all these affect both the structural integrity as well as logivity. These ratios are available from CPWD schedules online. You just have to search a bit. Further the quantity of cement per cubic meter of concrete determines to a large extent the strength - M10, M20 or M40. M40 is preferred for low rise residential concrete structures.
. The quality of floor and bathroom tiles is where most flounder, as contractors tend to push "seconds"
. Wood for door frames and panels is another area where contractors gain if you are not aware. I prefer seasoned teak for frames and that retails between 2,000 and 4,000 per cubic foot. Though you can get wood for as low as 600 per square foot, seasoned teak is one of those rare wood that is termite proof as well as long lasting. Well worth the premium.

I could go on and on on various materials, but you get an idea of what it is all about.

Once again I advise owners to include the costs of all the permissions which include
. Drawings by registered Architects
. Permission for construction from the local authorities
. Permission and costs of stacking construction materials on public roads
. Cost of disposal of rubble
. Permission and cost of water for construction
. Last but not the least cost of getting a completion certificate

[JMaruru]

As there is a huge building coming right opposite to my place, I would like to turn my windows from transparent/2-way view to one way view windows.

Does one have to change the glass of the windows OR is there any film sheet which can achieve the same? We have large bay windows on the frontage with transparent glass, which provides a complete view of the living room continuing onto dining and kitchen.

Please advise!

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by JMaruru

As there is a huge building coming right opposite to my place, I would like to turn my windows from transparent/2-way view to one way view windows.

Does one have to change the glass of the windows OR is there any film sheet which can achieve the same? We have large bay windows on the frontage with transparent glass, which provides a complete view of the living room continuing onto dining and kitchen.

Please advise!

Most of the "Sun Film" sheets have a shining outer surface, which would turn the glass into one way during day time. At night though the effect is gone, so you will need curtains to block the view at night.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by Aroy

Once again I advise owners to include the costs of all the permissions which include

Excellent feedback Aroy. I have always enjoyed reading your posts around here and a few other related threads.

I think if someone if building a house for themselves, it is important to be 100% involved. Else, dont build one. Take the time to plan thoroughly - take even a year if you need to. It is well worth the time spent.

A friend of mine relied on a friendly contractor to get his house built in Bangalore and got completely skewered because he was "busy" at work. Second time around, he hired another guy to complete the long pending project, and was 100% involved in every step and got to move in pretty quickly.

Has happened to me too. My dad relied on a friendly contractor to renovate his apartment and got scammed quite a bit and the work was not even 30% done. I had to relocate for a short bit, enter, fire the contractor, hire individual workers for each specific job (tile laying, bathrooms, electricals, painting etc), went to the market and purchased my own supplies and over a month played the role of a contractor and got the job done.

Every single person pretty much is out there to make a fast buck. The more involved you are, the better decisions you will make, and the more satisfied you will be of the outcome.

Unless you're a thug yourself and the contractor dare not mess with you

[carboy]

Originally Posted by JMaruru

Does one have to change the glass of the windows OR is there any film sheet which can achieve the same?

Yes, you can. In Bombay, I found Garware SunFilm installers from justdial.

Note, it will work only in the day time.

[amitk26]

I am in same boat with exact same requirements
Here is my 1.5 years worth experience in terms of thinking, planning and initial execution

Working with any architect for individual house /small project is at least 6 to 8 months process.

When initially some of my friends told be this I laughed it off thinking all requirements are clear from my side listed down and even a rough plan to the scale I had sketched and its just a small house but it took almost 8 months to get the work started.

Even if you have full clarity architect will come up with his own preferences however keep firm on what you want as its your house. Your job should be to make him converge to your priorities and it will be iterative process. As any independent house is not sufficient work for architect , at any point he will have many projects on his hand he will give you slice of his time.

Do not launch project unless you have full floor plan , Elevation and 3D view of house. If you want to cut down on time and effort go for some ready made plans .

All architects and contractors these days agree for eco friendly options you have listed. In fact the new BBMP guidelines include everything as mandatory.
However the difference is of intent, Are you doing something just to put a tick mark in checklist or for its true spirit.

Example(s): A 4K liter sump can be used for rainwater harvesting and it can fit in any offset area. However you need a 15 to 20K liter sump which can actually free you from borewell/ municipal supply for most of the year given the ample rains Bangalore receives.
As a 20K sump is not going to be small and it can't come over foundation footings and you need greenery as well. The space needs to be created carefully at the time of preparing plan.

A solar water heater is good enough to put a tick in checkbox however a 5Kwh hybrid solar ( Grid - Solar - battery optimisation) solution will take you to solar nirvana. These days a 5'x4' panel is 300W so you should have clear unshaded space on roof where you can put panels facing south at 12 degree incline for max efficiency. So the water tank and pill box for stairs should be such that they don't cast shadow in planned solar panel area. Visit your site at different time of day and see if there are any tall structures around which may cast shadows in mornings or evenings and how you can avoid shadow on solar panel area. Make rough trignometric calculations to see if your solar plan is not being foiled by shadow of neighbouring buildings. These inputs will be vital for architect to create plan for your requirements.

Compressed mud is not the only eco-friendly choice even you can choose materials which are green for traditional RCC and block work.
Light weight AAC blocks are made up of gypsum and flyash as both of them are industrial wastes it is excellent choice in terms of ecofriendly coefficient. AAC can help reduce concrete and steel use due to less weight whereas CSM being heavy will need bigger foundation , columns and beams.

Be it choice of pesticides for termites to flyash-ggbs mix concrete instead of OPC or OPC 43 vs 53 vs PPC cement to CSM vs brick vs Concrete block vs AAC blocks there are green choices at every step.

In my humble opinion you need to search and educate yourself and evaluate if you are really serious about eco-friendly home building.

Originally Posted by Gany

Hi
- Eco friendly materials/locally made/available material such as mud bricks
- min use of cement & steel/RCC type
- Natural light & air inside the building, cross ventilation etc
- sufficient set back, garden space front/back side of the house
- rain water harvesting to underground tank, recharge to open well
- Terrance garden
- Solar water heater & electricity

If anyone has constructed/experience with do chip in please
Thanks
Ganesha

[Prafful_Rathod]

Originally Posted by drhoneycake

Guys I need some help. We’ve built the first floor on our existing house. Now the contractor has quoted 1670/- per sq ft as construction charges. I want to know what all is included in this construction charge. And how is it calculated ??? Is it wall-to-wall ???

Also he has billed us extra for electrical fittings, debris shifting, and tools hire charges.

Can the experts please clarify ???

Assuming that you are looking to make a full fledged house on first floor and not just an additional room, I think 1,670/ sq ft is reasonably ok if it includes right from
1) Basic construction including plastering
2) Plumbing
3) Sanitary fittings (bathrooms/WC / Kitchen)
4) Tiling - entire house - atleast half walls in Bathrooms
5) Granite (or marble) work on door and window frames (excluding the main door which should preferably be teak wood) kitchen platform,
6) All the doors - windows etc.

Electrical fittings are normally charged extra. Apart from that any other charges are case to case and should have been known or mutually agreed.

You should clearly and specifically ask him on all of the above items whether it is included or not because each of them will cost you good amount of money if charged extra. for eg. only the labour cost of tiling & marble fittings in a 1000 sq ft house would cost you around 80k to 1 lac rupees plus material.

If all of the above are not included then it is definitely on higher side.

Apart from the above you will have to spend on safety Grill for windows / balcony etc, which should be anywhere between 8 - 10k per normal wise window.

As many have already written here, constructing a house requires lot of home work research, planning and tips from experts. Also you should meet 2
- 3 contractors, take their quotations compare both in terms of quality and price and then decide. A little more detailed planning would save you both time, money and headaches.

Lastly everyone in the chain is here to make extra money with the blessings of ignorance on part of the customer. So always negotiate on each and every item.

[condor]

Originally Posted by drhoneycake

Also he has billed us extra for electrical fittings, debris shifting, and tools hire charges.

Dr, the rate looks ok, though I am surprised that he has charged you for tools hire. Construction is his trade. Whether he owns his tools or takens them on hire is his problem. Debris shifting would be in gray area, but more likely chargeable.



Electrical fittings, Sanitary & bathroom fittings, tiles are typically the owner's choice, and will vary from one person to other. So this one would be ok too.


When you say electrical fittings, are you referring to the fixtures or the wiring & labour ? Both can come under additional since Electrical needs trained person. Unlike sanitary & plumbing which would be part of civil work.

[architect]

Just want to put in my two cents on the BoQ vs per square foot route (in technical terms you could call them Item Rate vs Cost per unit Area contracts):

The BoQ route will ensure as close to completely transparency in specification and costing as possible. The advantages are:

1. Complete picture of every item of work
2. Possibility of correct and fair adjustment of quantities between estimation and billing, since no estimate can be 100% accurate
3. Possibility of correct and fair adjustment of rate in case of escalation due to input price or any other factor by using the accepted methodology of rate analysis.
4. A grip over the costs as well as cash flow of the projects at all times during the project.
5. No need for contractor, owner or client to depend on 'trust' in billing or measurement. Focus can shift to quality, which is the most important.

However, here's the catch:
1. Making a correct BoQ is an art in itself and needs to be done by a competent architect / engineer / quantity surveyor
2. No BoQ is complete without each item properly defined.
3. Contractor needs to be on the same page as others. Many small-time contractors (and you won't exactly be hiring L&T to make your house!) do not quote correctly and start crying later.

Any decision regarding Item Rate Contract vs Per Square Foot Contract should be taken based on:

1. What is the flexibility / possibility of cost overrun you can handle?
2. Are you in a position to pay for the services of an architect / engineer / QS who can make a correct BoQ (since there are plenty of bad ones out there).
3. Even if you are, will you give that professional enough time, fees and cash flow to let him do a decent job without pressurizing him thinking "nothing's happening at site!"
4. If not, are you qualified to do it yourself?

90% of time / cost-overruns happen because of not giving enough time / thought / importance to relevant things in the design stage. It is common practice to say that these things are not relevant for small projects but after 16 years working as an architect I can say the opposite: the smaller the project, the more you need to plan because every variation can become too big later.

[civic-sense]

A few years ago, I built my house - my dream home. During the initial discussions my Architect encouraged me to build the house myself and not contract out to a contractor. His reasoning was that the experience is something that I will cherish for a long time, not to mention the cost savings. It took me 2 years right from discussions, creating the plan, getting the necessary approvals, building, inspection and occupancy. The actual building process took 15 months, 3 months more than I estimated.

I handpicked each and every building material, the fittings, the appliances, the furniture myself. I went around shopping, comparing, haggling, pitting one vendor against another etc. And the internet is full of information. I contracted labour separately - masonry, painting, flooring, carpentry etc, and everything was calculated on a per unit basis and not based on floor area.

First, the cost savings. I save at least 20L on my 60L home, and I used top notch materials and fittings. Tata steel, Kohler/Grohe fittings, Philips/Havells lighting, Century E1 grade Plywood, RAK tiles, AP Zero VoC paint - things which I never had got even after spending 20L more via a contractor.

This is not to say that everything was hunky dory. There were numerous agonizing moments, I had to change labourers a few times, had to break a wall or two, lost money on a bad deal etc.

Now, the feeling living in the house is priceless. Cos it feels like every nook and corner was planned and built with my own hands.

I have nothing against contractors. But I would urge everybody out there to build their own house themselves. And be sure to employ an Architect. Keep aside a couple of lakhs for that, it would be worth it.

[architect]

Originally Posted by civic-sense

Now, the feeling living in the house is priceless. Cos it feels like every nook and corner was planned and built with my own hands.

So, if you read my post, you essentially chose Option (4) of my last four choices. It is good to have an architect to prevent you from making any basic mistakes. However, if you have the time, energy and inclination, then you can build a house yourself.

Let me also add one thing: in your case, you were the contractor yourself, since you did everything a contractor does and you earned the profit in the form of savings and emotional fulfillment. In the interests of your health and safety, you decided to listen to the architect / structural engineer, which was the prudent thing to do. A word of appreciation to your architect, who did not try to feed the ecosystem but nevertheless (hopefully) helped you through the process.

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by civic-sense

A few years ago, I built my house - my dream home. During the initial discussions my Architect encouraged me to build the house myself and not contract out to a contractor. His reasoning was that the experience is something that I will cherish for a long time, not to mention the cost savings. It took me 2 years right from discussions, creating the plan, getting the necessary approvals, building, inspection and occupancy. The actual building process took 15 months, 3 months more than I estimated.

I handpicked each and every building material, the fittings, the appliances, the furniture myself. I went around shopping, comparing, haggling, pitting one vendor against another etc. And the internet is full of information. I contracted labour separately - masonry, painting, flooring, carpentry etc, and everything was calculated on a per unit basis and not based on floor area.

First, the cost savings. I save at least 20L on my 60L home, and I used top notch materials and fittings. Tata steel, Kohler/Grohe fittings, Philips/Havells lighting, Century E1 grade Plywood, RAK tiles, AP Zero VoC paint - things which I never had got even after spending 20L more via a contractor.

This is not to say that everything was hunky dory. There were numerous agonizing moments, I had to change labourers a few times, had to break a wall or two, lost money on a bad deal etc.

Now, the feeling living in the house is priceless. Cos it feels like every nook and corner was planned and built with my own hands.

I have nothing against contractors. But I would urge everybody out there to build their own house themselves. And be sure to employ an Architect. Keep aside a couple of lakhs for that, it would be worth it.

We took a similar approach when we constructed our home. We personally knew a good contractor and we gave him the labor contract. Like you said, apart from the cost savings, the satisfaction is immense and feels like a good achievement! Although, in our case, I and my father were involved with the efforts shared between us. We used to visit the construction site 5 days a week for 2 years. This helped in ensuring the smooth progress and timely corrections.

We saved around quite a significant amount compared to the full contract quote provided by the contractor. We were able to use the part of the saved amount to have a lift installed which would have been impossible if we had gone for full contract. We were able to go for granite flooring, RAK/Kajaria/MCPL/ Other good brand tiles for bathrooms, Grohe/Jaquar/Kolher for bathrooms, Asian paints Royale for interior and Ultima protek paint for exteriors. Good quality of all the components. I do not remember any component we used or installed that was of average quality.

But we to understand that , this kind of an approach is aberration and not a norm . Not many people have the time, energy or the convenience to do everything personally. Hence , most of the people who have a plot go for full contract approach. And contractors will make hay while sun shines. As is the number of people building houses is less because of land scarcity /ridiculous land prices. So those who can do this should consider themselves lucky .

[naveenvenkatesh]

Folks, need some help. We have our own duplex house in Bangalore. We want to build another floor on top. Can you guys suggest some good architects to work with?

[architect]

Originally Posted by naveenvenkatesh

Folks, need some help. We have our own duplex house in Bangalore. We want to build another floor on top. Can you guys suggest some good architects to work with?

I have 1-2 good friends from college practising in Bengaluru. In any case, Bengaluru has the highest concentration of practising architects per square unit area of any city in India!

If you don't find anyone, please PM me.