[Guite]

Originally Posted by vibbs

Guys need a help. I have just bought a flat for own use. The builder does not allow us to install external grills on the windows. I am not too fond of having them fitted internally as they will spoil the look. Specially with the balcony doors (Sliding glass doors total width of 9 feet). Ideally for this big area, I ll need a collapsible grill, but having it internally will be an eye sore unless I find ways to make it look good. Any idea or examples of aesthetically done collapsible/sliding grills?

Alternatively I am also lookin at getting the glasses changed to Toughened/Glazed ones. Apparantly there are Burglar poorf Glass available in the market (like https://www.aisvue.com/upvc-doors-wi...ated-glass.php). But really dont know if they are strong enough to do away with safety grills.

Any help would be great.

Is your flat on ground or first floor? If it is on upper floors why worry? People in Mumbai (and maybe Pune too) tend to cage up their windows on the outside and it is indeed any eyesore from outside. In Delhi NCR we have residential towers with big balcony glazings, no problem.

The AIS glass you have linked is good. There is an even better option: Dupont Sentryglass. It is available locally. It is more secure than PVB laminated glass, about 1.5x to 2x more expensive. However installing this strong a glass would be pointless without equally strong framework.

[vibbs]

Originally Posted by Guite

Is your flat on ground or first floor? If it is on upper floors why worry? People in Mumbai (and maybe Pune too) tend to cage up their windows on the outside and it is indeed any eyesore from outside. In Delhi NCR we have residential towers with big balcony glazings, no problem.

The AIS glass you have linked is good. There is an even better option: Dupont Sentryglass. It is available locally. It is more secure than PVB laminated glass, about 1.5x to 2x more expensive. However installing this strong a glass would be pointless without equally strong framework.

Hi Guite,

Thanks. I will check out Dupont sentryglass too.

Yes my flat is on the first floor which why I am concerned. I ve stayed at higher floors with glass balcony doors without much concern, but being on the first floor is a bit of a worry.

[TorqueyTechie]

Originally Posted by condor

Guys, I am looking for this type of cabinet door handles. This is from Collins India, but has been discontinued.

Condor, if you are still looking for this try in the shops on yediyur main road. Or search in the shops near BVK iyengar road, chikpet

[condor]

Originally Posted by TorqueyTechie

Condor, if you are still looking for this try in the shops on yediyur main road. Or search in the shops near BVK iyengar road, chikpet

I had picked up some of this type from Metallica on Kanakapura Road. The other place that had some was Paramanand, but no stock now there. Few other places I tried dont have this one.

[freedom]

I am getting irritated by Pigeons making a mess of my terrace garden. Apart from the bird poo, they dig out the coco peat and vermiculture from the pots.
I want to get bird net installed. The only problem is the terrace cealing is 2 floors high.

Can someone refer a good shop/person for this job? This is for a flat in Pune near Alka Talkies.

[ms001]

Hi guys , we are looking for good interior designer for apartment interior work such as kitchen , wardrobes , false celling electrical work basically a one stop shop for the entire interior work .
Can you recommendation any good and reasonable contacts?
thanks in advance .

[JMaruru]

Would like some suggestions/advise on how to go about repainting the exteriors of our place in B'lore. It has been 10 years since the last paint.

I checked with some of the painters nearby, and they say they can do primer + 2 coats OR can do directly 2 coats of paint. Is primer necessary? He said, if repainting same color can skip primer.

How should one go about on these coats?

What are the types of paint available.. heard of 'weathercoat' and ultima brands for the exterior surface. What's best considering B'lore weather?

If you know of some good painters around JP Nagar, B'lore, Please do suggest!

[fine69]

What kind of money am I looking at if I decide to construct a house on a 180 sq mtr plot?

I guess the ground floor has to be stilt parking, is basement good to have, is it manageable to only construct parking and first floor and when I have more funds I can get the second floor constructed?

Given the low land rates some of the plots are now within my reach but I'm totally not sure of the construction cost hence want to check.

Noida is where the plots are if it helps with cost estimation.

[khan_sultan]

Originally Posted by JMaruru

Would like some suggestions/advise on how to go about repainting the exteriors of our place in B'lore. It has been 10 years since the last paint.

=======

If you know of some good painters around JP Nagar, B'lore, Please do suggest!

I had got my apartment painted by these fellows https://aapkapainter.com/ Happy & satisfied with the result and the way of working. At places where I was not happy with outcome, just called them up and they instructed the painters to redo the area to my satisfaction.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by fine69

What kind of money am I looking at if I decide to construct a house on a 180 sq mtr plot?

I guess the ground floor has to be stilt parking, is basement good to have, is it manageable to only construct parking and first floor and when I have more funds I can get the second floor constructed?

Given the low land rates some of the plots are now within my reach but I'm totally not sure of the construction cost hence want to check.

Noida is where the plots are if it helps with cost estimation.

The normal rate is between Rs2,000/ and 4,000/ per square foot if you do your own supervision, procurement and paperwork.

On small sized plot a basement only makes sense if you can build it from one side to other. I guess with 180/200m plots the width will be 30'/10m so if 2 meters has to be left at each side (latest Delhi regulation) then it makes no sense, else a 10mx20m basement is an excellent space. If allowed end-to-end make a basement and keep the ground floor at least a meter above the road, so that small windows can give light and ventilation.

In case you want to construct in stages, here are my suggestions
. Get hold of a good (and honest) Architect. He/She will charge between 25,000 and 100,000, but then that would include drawings, passing plans, getting C&D forms and finally the completion certificate.
. The house should be designed as an RCC frame structure. Plan for future expansion so get it designed for 5 floors + stilt parking (4 are allowed today and 5th will be within a few years), so ensure that your heirs can expand the house safely. It is very difficult to strengthen existing columns and beams to cater to extra load if they have not been designed for it initially. The extra cost will be minimal at this stage.
. Design the house with a narrow passage (1m) on the sides. That will give you extra window/wardrobe space in the rooms. The bathrooms and kitchen will have excellent light and ventilation without resorting to shafts.
. If possible build the house at least a meter above the road (higher of front and rear if two are at different levels). That will ensure that during heavy rains/floods your ground floor has reasonable protection, and basement (if built) extra ventilation.
. Ensure that you do a thorough anti-termite treatment after the plot is dug up. Ensure that both the ground and the base columns/footing have been treated.
. Ask the Architect/Contractor to use higher grade concrete and proper compaction for the structures at and below ground level.
. Have provision for a lift as that will ease living once the house expands vertically. A lot of my neighbours are ruing not having provided for a lift and now when they want to, face a lot of hassles apart from costs which will more than double.
. With water becoming scarce day by day, provide for at least 10,000L underground storage facility. If possible think of 15,000L or even 20,000L as that will give you a buffer of at least a week or so.
. While designing the house provide space for a diesel generator. Also ensure that a generator can be hooked in to the electrical circuits seamlessly.
. Provide for separate electrical circuits for normal and "Inverter" supplies on each floor/flat. These are very difficult and costly to retrofit.
. Finally at the top level bring the columns to 1m above the terrace and cap them. When you extend vertically, these columns will be the starting point for the new ones.

Wish you all the best in your effort, Just keep in mind that a house will last for a few generations if properly designed and built.

[fine69]

Originally Posted by Aroy

The normal rate is between Rs2,000/ and 4,000/ per square foot if you do your own supervision, procurement and paperwork.....

Thanks a lot for your inputs but 60lakhs for a 2000 sqft house (3000 per sqft estimation) even if I just build stilt parking and one floor is going to get out of my budget.

What I heard from most folks was 30 lakhs for one storey (ball park from most) so I was thinking more like 35 lakhs with parking included and just one storey. Its just me and my wife right now so I could live in a single storey house for now, that's how the idea started in my head.

If its going to cost 1 Cr to get 2 floors and stilt parking then I need to park this for later.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by fine69

Thanks a lot for your inputs but 60lakhs for a 2000 sqft house (3000 per sqft estimation) even if I just build stilt parking and one floor is going to get out of my budget.

What I heard from most folks was 30 lakhs for one storey (ball park from most) so I was thinking more like 35 lakhs with parking included and just one storey. Its just me and my wife right now so I could live in a single storey house for now, that's how the idea started in my head.

If its going to cost 1 Cr to get 2 floors and stilt parking then I need to park this for later.

In your case each floor will have 170 square meters including balconies. The foundations and basement are expensive and are not not factoring in by layman

The major costs involved are in order
. Concrete @ 3,000/cu.m. You need at least 30+/floor and 40+ for stilt parking
. Steel, around 6T/floor and 12+ for basement and foundation
. Flooring @ 200-500 including laying costs
. Labour any where between 5L to 10L for two floors
. Wood works
. Toilets and kitchen @ 1 to 2L per room

Please spend more on quality materials and quality workmanship. Shoddy materials and workmanship may half your costs initially, but prove a major resource drain in the long term.

You can build 170 square meters in 30L, but foundations and stilt parking will cost a lot, at least if you use standard safe designs and good quality material. Civil works have a lot of leeway in terms of quality and substandard work will rear its head only after a few years - crumbling plaster, leaking roofs and walls, jammed drains and corroding water/drainage pipe lines. What you pay more is for long lasting trouble free experience. Just examine a few older DDA and bad builder houses to experience bad construction.

[fine69]

Originally Posted by Aroy

In your case each floor will have 170 square meters including balconies. The foundations and basement are expensive and are not not factoring in by layman.......What you pay more is for long lasting trouble free experience. Just examine a few older DDA and bad builder houses to experience bad construction.

Thanks again, all points valid!

I'm in fact living in a shoddy DDA flat right now so can relate to what you mean. Let me figure out how good a deal I can crack on plots, else its going to be an apartment for now.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by fine69

Thanks again, all points valid!

I'm in fact living in a shoddy DDA flat right now so can relate to what you mean. Let me figure out how good a deal I can crack on plots, else its going to be an apartment for now.

What ever you do, do not ever use either inferior material or inferior labour. The apparent savings in skimping is just not worth lifetime of patching up and pain. Instead save money or if possible take a loan, as a residence; in most of our cases; is a once in a lifetime endeavor.

[rm_arjuna]

Stay in top floor apartment without any false ceiling , every summer we used to paint the terrace with suryachem lime based product with limited relief .Looking forward for a reasonably durable ( atleast 3 years ) Heat reflective paint for terrace .While google provided couple of options like XL coating / Star shield . Any lead / feedback would help .Today it is 40 C in hyderabad even before start of peak summer .