Free Consultation,8,Nov,2012

Four bed room house with 1250 sft plinth area

Query

Dear Sir,

We are looking for a house with the following facilities:

1. Two Storied Building

Ground Floor :

• 1 Master bedroom + 2 Bedrooms (1 for teenager, one for old age)

• Kitchen

• Living cum Dining

• Verandah

• Car porch

• W/A cum store

• Common toilet

First floor

• 1 Bedroom with toilet

• Balcony

We can keep all the rooms at minimum standard size

I would like to know if we can build a home looking similar to the attached photo with the above facilities in 1250 sq. ft.

Sreeja

My reply

Non professional contractors who build most of the houses in Kerala(They also give plan of the house sometimes free or for name sake charges) have created lot of wrong ideas in the minds of general public about house construction.

Major wrong concept almost ingrained in the minds of every one is that there is a fixed square feet cost of construction whatever may be the design and whatever may be soil conditions and other factors.This is totally wrong.I have directly designed and built more than 200 houses and on completion each of these houses had different square feet cost.

Another wrong concept is that owner of the house can decide square feet plinth area of the house in advance and the designer will have to some how meet all requirements within that square feet area predetermined by the owner.I get any number of mails reflecting these baseless wrong concepts among people.

Look at this case.She has a plot with width of 14M and depth of 18M.After statutory clearances to be left she will not get more than 11.8M width and 13 M depth.With that space no designer can provide three bed rooms and other facilities sought by her in Ground Floor

Of course I have designed 1200 sft house  with three bed rooms in three cents plot .But the rooms and living spaces were naturally congested.But in that case,there was no alternative.

For  reasonably good dimension rooms and other living spaces,a four bed room house will need at least 2500 sft in plinth area.Cost of a house is not determined by square feet plinth area alone.At best it can be one of the cost contributing factors.Cost of hundreds of input materials and different type of labour involved can only be controlled or reduced by having an appropriate design by a qualified and experienced designer who have direct experience in designing and managing several house constructions in different locations and environments.Wealth of experience gained cannot be obtained by any University studies

Another wrong concept is that one can design house starting from Elevation .You might have seen picture of a house somewhere and liked it.But you cannot simply copy it in to your plot.Your plot will have different measurements,directions and other factors which call for a unique design suited to your plot,budget and requirements.Most important part of design of a house is getting most appropriate plan of the house.A designer who can give you a good plan of the house can definitely give you a good Elevation suited to you rather than simply copying a house picture seen by you somewhere.

Villa purchase from a Builder In Cochin

Query

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Building Permit":
Mr Thomas,
I am planning to get a villa by a builder in Kochi. Do I need to check for the non encumbrance certificate or any kind of details of the land where the villa is situating?
Thanks,
Naveen

My reply

Just because you are buying a Villa from a supposed to be reputed builder(Whoever advertises more seems to be a reputed builder!),it does not mean that you can relax on all legal aspects.In such case you have to be more careful than buying a plot or house directly by you.You have to necessarily get technical and legal evaluation before you commit your money from impartial experts.Go to link Architectural Guidance in our website,

www.keralaarchitecture.com

and check what all you have to check before property purchase

Internship training with our organisation for Architecture/Civil Engineering graduates

Query

Respected Sir,

I am a 4th year student of the department of Architecture and Regional Planning, Indian institute of Technology(IIT), Kharagpur enrolled in its B.Arch. course. I have gone through your website and has found it really interesting. I hence intend to do an internship under your esteemed guidance and be a part of the projects undertaken by your company.

Neeharika,

My reply

We can provide training to selected fresh graduates in Architecture/Civil Engineering with exposure to design,Project Management at Sites and related activities of our organisation

Clearance required for Building Construction

Query

Sir,
I've 15cents of plot at Trichur Corporation area. From the main road, there is a sub road having width of 3.200 M. to the plot. I wish to build an apartment at there. Is 3.200 M accessibility is enough otherwise what papers has to submit to get relaxation. Pls. advice .
Regards.
jayadevan

My reply

Contact town planning section of local authority office(in your case Trichur Corporation) with Division No and Survey No of the plot.They are the competent authority to clarify your doubts as in addition to KBR provisions local authority can impose further restrictions and conditions.

Renovation/Remodeling of existing house

Query

Hi Thomas,

I am looking for some professional unbiased opinion on our house located in Chavara if it needs renovation and need some quote on those renovation/ remodeling.

Best Regards,

Santosh

My reply

Lot of people think of renovation/remodeling as a cheaper option compared to new construction.It is not so.Cost of renovation/remodeling cannot be predicted or estimated properly as there will be lot of unexpected costs coming in.All that defects in the original building by way of wrong design,bad workmanship cannot be simply rectified by a remodeling work.There are restrictions to which remodeling can be done

So  attempt for remodeling/renovation if you really need it and we can inspect the house and suggest whether remodeling/modification sought by you can be done without incurring much cost and if it is worth spending money for.

Whether rates of contractor is reasonable

Query

Jinu has left a new comment on your post "#Kerala House Construction-Replies to your queries...":
Hi My Name is Jinu BK from Kannur,working with a Singapore base Company, I am building a house in my native place,ground floor concrete has been done, now the construction is under process for first floor it's total of 1950 sq. ft. house, the agreement with the contractor was 1000 Rs per sq. ft. only for the structure(including kattila and Windows with grill)so could please advise me per sq. ft. price is reasonable or higher side.

My reply

What is the point in I telling whether your contractor rate is reasonable or not.Has any professional body fixed such square feet rate of construction ? Even you don’t know what all he will do for that agreed rate.Is there a professional to supervise the work?Will any professional  give architectural/structural drawings for the work?If so will the contractor agree to follow such drawings and professional instructions while doing work?

Who will check quality of work of the contractor?Non professional contractor do not have to follow any engineering standards and he will do anything to get profit even by compromising on quality of work which mostly he may not even know about .

This is how most of the house construction goes in our land.Professionals are supposed to “increase” cost of construction! In practice,contractor will try to cheat owner of the building who thinks that he is smarter than contractor.Finally only the contractor will be smarter and once the construction is completed this originally agreed square feet rate will be forgotten by all

Free Consultation,25,October,12

Island Kitchen in 1700 sft four bed house

Query

Hi Sir,
My name is Filsy .We are from Kochi,now staying in US.I happen to have gone through your blog recently .I really liked it, especially your communications with your clients.We are planning to build a home in Perumbavoor for my parents.We kind of almost finalized a plan.After reading your blog I have some concerns.If you have time I would really appreciate it if you spent your valuable time to answer some of my concerns.
1.My total Building area is 1705 sq. - 2 storied home excluding car porch ,with 4 bedroom and 3 bathroom
I read one of your answers which says that we need at least 2000sq for f 4 bedroom plan.My Concern is that if it possible to build a 4bedroom house in 1705sq? Will that be too congested ?
2.I am looking forward to build an Island kitchen,and my kitchen area is only 356*232.My architect said it is not possible to turn this in to a Island kitchen. So what will be the minimum dimensions for an Island kitchen?
I have your phone number from the blog .. is it ok for us to call you and discuss this ?
Thanks for your precious time. We really appreciate it.
Thanks & Regards,
Filsy

My reply

People have a mistaken notion that cost of construction is directly proportional to square feet plinth area of the house.This is not at all correct.At best square feet plinth area can be treated as one of the factors contributing to cost

Most important cost reduction  technique is getting most appropriate plan of the house giving you maximum utility for every  bit of built up space,proper ventilation and natural light in all living spaces and make maximum utility by utilising space inside the house appropriately.

Just any one who knows how to draw a plan in AutoCAD cannot give you this best possible plan of the house which is the most critical factor to give you a better house by design and  at lesser cost.Expertise for designing such a plan will not come by attending an engineering /architectural course.It require wealth of experience acquired through years of designing and getting involved in actual execution of work at different sites in different circumstances.It also require creative talent and common sense which can get ignited only by learning by working with established experts in the field.

A Four bed room house may have to be even less than 1500 sft if your land available is less.I have designed and built four bed room  attached house with all usual living spaces including car porch with a plinth area of 1400 sft.Our office is such a house.But rooms are a bit small but designed to have maximum utility.Reason I had to bring down area is because land available is only 3.5 cents,that too with a non utilisable corner.

But when you have larger land space,it is better to go for bigger rooms and living spaces.House is for a long time,at least for your life time and for life time of your children.So get an expert to decide how best the available land can be utilised with better facilities at lesser cost.Do not simply go after some one who promises free plan or plan for a song and loose lakhs of your hard money.An ordinary person however intelligent he may be will not be able to understand defects in a plan of the house till construction reaches structure completion stage.After that stage no expert can correct defects in design.So better be careful at initial design stage itself.

Whether Island can be incorporated or not in that plan can be checked only after going through that plan.

Type of foundation

Query

Thomas Abraham has left a new comment on your post "Foundation Rubble work for house construction":
i have to construct a house at near Ranni, the soil type is white gravel,and light quacks happens some times. what type of foundation is suitable please give details

My reply

It will be more appropriate to  suggest suitable foundation only after a site visit and after going through plan of your house.Don’t you have a consultant for designing the house , to provide structural/architectural drawings during execution of work and  to advise you during construction?

I have designed and built a house at Ranni few years back.I have found soil there generally stable suitable for rubble foundation.Other than this I cannot comment anything without proper data/information

Is soil test required?

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Foundation-Soil Investigation":
Hi ..that was a nice post and something that I was looking for. I have a query, hoping you will answer. I have a 12 cents land on which I m planning to build 3 apartments of a total area of around 4000 sq. m. The GF will have 3 BHK and the 1st floor two 2 BHK units.  Engineer was asking me to do a soil test? Do u think it is warranted..no one in the near vicinity has done it? the land used to be an agricultural land decades back

My reply

Do you know 4000 sq. m is roughly 48000 sft? Without even preparing a plan of the building how do you know plinth area of the building?

If the concerned Engineer thinks that soil test has to be done,it may be necessary.Without a site inspection,I cannot comment on his opinion

Clearance required from Highway

Hi Thomas
We had 10 cent plot at Thodupuzha and front side is facing to the state highway(Pala -Thodupuzha) .
Some renovation work is going on the high way by KSTP.
The plot is triangular shape and little bit difficult for house construction
and we are planning to create a new house. Currently we have old house there.
Previously we hard that only need to keep 3 meter distance from highway.
But when taking with municipality they told that KSTP put a rule to keep distance of 5 meter
Do u know about the KSTP rules? if so please share with me
Please provide description of house construction rules near state highway

My reply

Your local authority(Municipality in your case) is the competent authority to decide on the matter of clearance from high way required in your areas considering all aspects including Kerala Building rules provisions,road widening projects and other restrictions imposed by appropriate authority from time to time.

Free Consultation,5/10/12,second

Consultancy for commencement of Construction business in Kerala

Query

Dear Sir
I'm a civil engineer with few years experience in gulf, i would like to
start a construction firm in Kerala in a small scale and i would like
to know the precaution,scope,initial investment to start the business.
I will be happy if you can do the architectural design part for me
once i start the business.
Kindly reply
Rohith

My reply

We can act as consultants and guide you on start up of business

Our consultancy division can guide you on all aspects of business  with professional expertise

Building Upper floor below Steel truss roof with tiles laid

Query

Dear Sir ,

I have already made a roof truss on my existing house which was build on 2006 having a flat roof area . Presently I made a steel structure and covered with clay tiles from one of my old home . Now I have an idea to close the side and prepare 2 attached bed rooms and one hall .

Appreciate your valuable guidance to move further .

Please refer the attachments( elevation / and roof area ) which is self explanatory to get more details .

My reply

I think adding rooms below steel truss roof is not advisable

Better get a professional to inspect the building and get suggestions

If you need our services,please let me know location

Clearances

Query

Hi Thomas

I have 2.8 cents of land in Trivandrum main road side. How much space should I leave on all four sides of the proposed building?

Valsa

My reply

Please check up with town planning dept. of your local authority office with survey no of your plot

They will be able to tell you exact clearances allowable in your case

Flooring Suggestions

Query

Hi Thomas,

Myself Sudheesh Chandran from Kottarakara and i am working in a pharmaceutical company in Thrissur.

I found your blog recently when i search for idea regarding flooring tiles for bedroom.

And i think its very nice to meet u in that blog and i hope i can mail u also for my doubts on the same.

Can you help me to suggest some ideas for the flooring of new bedroom and bathroom.

i was thinking about vitrified tiles for both for a good finishing with light color.

So how i can select those tiles.what all i want to consider.. and please consider the main thing that my low economical background

My Reply

Flooring suggestions in the present scenario can be as follows

Option 1-Living room,bed rooms;Teak wood flooring-It will cost as much as Granite flooring.Granite and Marble flooring are slippery in nature,Produces negative energy and hence not recommended

Option2-Bed rooms-Clay tiles.Availably is a problem as most of the clay tile factories in Kerala are closing down due to non availability of clay

Option3-Different varieties of advanced versions of vitrified tiles available which are anti slippery and with lesser cost

Building Permit-clearances

Query

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Building Permit":
What is the distance to be kept from a state highway to construct a cultural center comprising Madrassa, Prayer Hall, Library etc.? What are the formalities to be completed before doing this? The plot in question is under a charitable trust. (1) To whom the application to be submitted? (2) Who will be the authority to give permission? (3) Whether the trust has to approach SH authorities for permission? (4) Or District Collector's permission thru' Panchayat is sufficient? (5) What is the role of Village authorities? (6) Which are the acts that governs this building in question? If possible please give me the GO Nos. to go through.

My reply

For any type of Building construction,you have to approach town planning dept. of Local authority concerned.They will guide you on how to proceed.It will be helpful if you can get assistance of a local Architect/Supervisor who deals with Building permit issues

Query

United has left a new comment on your post "Building Permit":
3 meter distance from plot or road please clarify

My reply

3M clearance normally required from front side of plot to beginning of road

Query

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Building Permit":
Dear Thomas,
I have a land of 5 cents which is in a rectangular shape of 8.5 x 25 meters. i am going to leave 75cms from each sides because of the less width of the land. i already got permission from panchayath to do so. will there be any problem for obtaining number for my house after construction? your advice in this regard is highly required/ appreciated.

My reply

Panchayath authorities can clarify your doubt clearly

Asking for some plans

Query

Dear Sir,
I am planning to construct a 1000 SQFT area house.. Can you please provide me some plans...

My reply

I get similar mails and enquiries quite often.It is because people think of Plan for house to be constructed as something not so important.They think any plan prepared by any one will be fine especially if plan can be obtained without any charges.

A well-designed plan by a qualified professional with good experience in designing and building houses can give you better facilities, appearance and lesser cost of construction as the plan will reflect wealth of experience of the professional obtained by designing and building hundreds of houses

Basic Plan for the house will be prepared after site visit, taking into account following:

1. Information provided by you on your needs, desires and hopes for the house.

2. Vasthu aspects

3. Traditional Kerala Architecture features

4. Modern architecture features

5. Structural engineering aspects to reduce cost of construction

6. Kerala Building Rules

7. Features of site and surroundings

Cost of construction of a house and effective utilisation of limited space to maximum advantage for the house owner depends solely on the best plan you manage to get from the expert you can find to suit specifically to your needs,site and surroundings.

Just any plan obtained from websites,magazines or obtained free from contractors will not be good for you.It will create loss of your money and problems which you will be able to understand only after completion of the building when it will be too late to do anything

I have seen many cases where people after realising the folly call me to see if something can be done after completion of structure of building.I or any body else cannot do much at that stage for problems and losses caused by a plan of the house not suited to the plot requirements  and budget of the house owner

Free consultation,6/10/12

Reconstructing house at Alleppey district,staying at Delhi

Query

Binu has left a new comment on your post "Building Permit":
Hi Mr. Thomas I have some land in Alleppey Dist., Kerala, It is in a Panchayat Area, 2 Cent is in my name and balance is in my mother name, that also i will get it registered in my name soon, so i wish to build a 3 BHK house at there. Right now I am staying in Delhi,I am not aware of any rules and regulations of Kerala. Can you please brief me about, what are the procedures i have to complete to build a house there? Total plot size is 20 Cent, Frontage is 43 feet, 4 meter wide Panchayat road also there at frontage. I had a house at that plot earlier.Now we have demolished that before 5 years. So please explain me what are the formalities i have to complete there?
My reply

If you have sent this message to my email id,I could have directly replied to you explaining how to go about building your house at Alleppey living in Delhi.My email id is

vhthomas@viruvelil.com

Comments posted to my blogs may take lot of time for me to notice and reply.Sometimes I will miss them for a long time or forever.So if you need quicker response,mail to me directly.

Before demolishing the existing house five years back if you have informed local authority office in writing about demolition of existing house and your intention to construct a new building,local authority would have treated construction of your house as reconstruction of existing house.In that case,you could have retained existing electrical and water connections.

Now that you have demolished existing house five years back,you have to apply fresh for obtaining building permit from local authority.If your local authority is an ordinary panchayath,you need not get prior permit for building construction.But that does not mean that you can construct house without following building rules.I cannot explain all building rules here.

Especially since you are in Delhi ,you will need services of professional oprganisation like ours who will design,supervise and construct your house in your absence.Such professional agencies will also take care of approval and other statutory formalities required for building construction.

Architectural services for Sri Lanka based Engineer

Query

dear sir,

I am interesting about vasthu system in India...I have some clients...shall we join and do it..

need 3 d views---like your photos in 60 degrees angle.. views..ok,,tell me how to pay u..and so on..after paying u duration..can i get through all email.explain...

Dayantha

Civil engineer

My reply

We can provide architectural services on consultation basis to anywhere in the world through email and other internet facilities

Guidance for Architecture student

Query

Sir

My name is Chaitanya Krishna Kumar and I am an architecture student from Manipal University Manipal. I'm currently doing research about traditional building techniques of Kerala. I came across your website for Kerala architecture. will it be possible for you to meet with me as I need info on the same.

i need info both on planning aspects such as vasthu and building construction techniques... Please let me know if you can help me out.

My reply

Please contact me on phone 9388701702 and fix up mutually convenient date and time for discussions

Side  and Front Clearances

Query

Akbar has left a new comment on your post "Building Permit":
sir,
I just started " padukam " work of our house but now it is stopped due to the problem of nearby road(panchayath).we have road on both in  front n side.we left 11m in the frontage.towards the back as plot is getting reduced we were forced to leave only 1.7 from the road on the side.Is it essential to leave 3m from road?

My reply

Normally you will have to  leave 3M ion the front side.1M and 1.2M on either side.If there is a road on side which reaches dead end at a distance not more than 75M,you will have to leave 2M on that side

Query

Shaji Peter has left a new comment on your post "Building Permit":
My neighbour had constructed his outside staircase with my backside wall. Also he had constructed a toilet near
the wall with about 30 cm gap. These were there for about
15 years.I don't know whether they had taken consent from our parents at that time. Now they are constructing roofing and its poles are on the top of the toilet (about 70 cm from our wall) and covering the sides with metal sheets. Their plan is to rent the top area after completing metal roofing and covering all sides.
Is it allowable? What can I do?

Query

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Building Permit":
Hi, I am from Surat,
My issue is : I have a piece of land at Melila Panchayat, Kollam Dt. Next to my plot, one building construction is going on and he has constructed his Car Porch in such a way that the rain water from his slop roof will fall in my land. He has not maintained the minimum distance which he is supposed to. I have already approached the Panchayat and a civil court to stay his further construction till the panchayat takes corrective action. For legal advice please

My reply

Your neighbour can build external stair case in his clearance space between his building and your compound wall.But he cannot build on top of that external stair case without leaving any clearance space

You will have to give a written complaint to local authority to stop his illegal construction and to make him demolish illegal construction already done.Even if your parents have given verbal permission to him for such illegal construction,that has no validity before law and it does not absolve him of the illegal nature of construction.

Query

Dilshad has left a new comment on your post "Building Permit":
Dear Sir,
i have owned 3 cents of land in panchayat area. kindly advise me what are the concessions i do get when i am planning to construct a home especially regarding clearances on each sides.
The frontage of the plot is only 5.5 M Long.
Three Sides of the plot is closed.On frontage, have panchayat road.
Regards,
Dilshad Salam

My reply

For 3 cents and less than 3 cents plots there are allowed relaxations in clearance space to be left as per KBR.It will be better if you contact town planning dept. of concerned local authority office with Survey No of your plot to know exactly what relaxations in building rules will be applicable to you.

Three bed room house to be built in Kerala with Rs.10 lakhs

Queries

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Free Consultation-8,August,2012":
Dear Sir,
I have a plot of 10 cents in Kerala.Can I build a 3bhk house for 10 lakhs.?I need to get the details of contractors who can build it.

SANJU has left a new comment on your post "Kerala Architecture and House Construction-Replies...":
I would like to know the cost of a four bedroom house in 7 cent

Midhun has left a new comment on your post "Free Consultation,20/7/2012":
Hello
My house is a single story house and I am also looking for typical Kerala renovation of adding one more floor. I would like to know/ see the most economical designs which I can refer to.
Any help on this appreciated
Thanks in Advance for your help
Mithun

My reply

There are quite a lot of people who think that contractor for house construction should build house as per his requirements at cost decided by him.It has to be understood clearly that cost of construction goes up steadily every day in a country like India where govt is very fond of causing  increase in cost of all commodities commonly used by people for existence while giving relaxations and freebees to large industrialists and rich.

House construction involves use of hundreds of materials for which there is always cost escalation and skilled labour for house construction is always in demand thereby pushing up cost of labour also.

No contractor can bring down cost of materials or labour unless he is capable of reducing material and labour inputs definitely not by cutting down his profit but by cutting down quality of construction.

If you involve an experienced professional for design,detailed drawings,occasional site inspection and to provide instructions to contractor and workers,he can reduce cost of your construction without compromising on quality of construction.But very few people are willing to go to or obtain professional assistance!

Cost of construction cannot be calculated using professional methods without site study by concerned professional and without finalising at least initial design for the house.All other cost projections are only guesses and guess cost do not mean anything.

Design and Construction of house outside Kerala

Query

Joe has left a new comment on your post "Free Consultation-8,August,2012":

dear sir i am living in Tamilnadu to Kerala border Trivandrum high road can you CONSTRUCT home out side & border of Kerala

My reply

We have designed and built directly a 6000 sft house at Kothagiri near Ootty few years back.We have designed many houses for outside Kerala clients.Hence it is not impossible to design and build houses outside Kerala.But we will prefer to act as designers and consultants for outside state clients and for places far away from Cochin

Nalukettu house

Query

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Nalukettu type houses-Do we really need it?":
hi Thomas..am constructing a nalukettu house at Thrissur.can u please send me the various options and plans/drawings for the Nadumuttam on the first floor..prefer drawings with the sloping roofs on four sides....regards
Prashanth

My reply

Nalukettu houses were designed and constructed in earlier days to suit living style of those days.It has no relation with living style of present day.Nalukettu houses were used by Joint families with many members of a large extended family living together.Present day houses have nuclear families and it will be difficult for present day nuclear families to live in Nalukettu houses.

Basically Nalukettu houses have these essential features;

1.Central court yard usually a square area open to sky

2.Walking space around the central court yard on all four sides

3.Poomukham in the front side

4,Chuttu verandah around house connected to front side Poomukham with a seating arrangement called Charupady

5,Typically Nalukettu houses are single story

This type of construction will require lot of built space adding to cost of construction and calling for more space and plinth area for the house

Unless you are not bothered about cost of construction,cost of more land required for construction and still want a Nalukettu house,you should not go for Nalukettu type construction for your house.

We have a modified design adopted for our Cherthala house with Poomukham and Chuttu verandah for front side alone by removing Nadumuttom.Such adapted versions can reduce cost and still give elegance of earlier Kerala Architecture blended with modern architecture and technology.For your information,there are not only Nalukettu type construction but there are Ettu kettu,Pathinaru kettu  construction by increasing no of Nadumuttom.

Tiled roof

Query

Snehananda swamyhas left a new comment on your post "#Kerala House Construction-Replies to your queries...":
it is very interesting to see your interest in Kerala architectural heritage.
I want to discuss about do we have any tile roofing installation standards in Kerala.
Do you know anyone who can do the tile roofing as per the Australian or American methods like ply sheathing, under layments and so on..
I am a Professor in Delhi and fan of Kerala roofing.

My reply

I am not aware of these

Free Consultation,4/10/12

SHARING MY BLOG POSTS

Query

Dear Thomas,
I have seen some of your valuable comments about construction in your blog. I am the editor of www.vayanamuri.com. It is my pleasure to put your articles on my website if you are willing to provide. It can be on weekly basis.
Regards
Shabu

My reply

Naturally I cannot share my articles free of charges to any one and I do not want to give copy rights for my writings to any one.I have put your communication here so that my readers can be aware of your e magazine.

Slope Concrete roof or slope fabricated roof above flat concrete roof

Query

I am planning to build a single floor house with slope tiled roof.I am  thinking of two option one is to make slope RCC roof and to lay clay tiles on the slope roof. Second option is to make single floor flat roof house and to make fabricated slope roof structure and to lay tiles on that. can you please explain advantage and disadvantage of the both including economy and reliability.

Shiyas

Senior Engineer

Indian Oil Corporation LTD.(Orissa)

My reply

If you can get concrete masons capable of doing slope concrete roof well,that option will be better

But usually it will be difficult to get such expert concrete workers.Then only option will be to go for second option of doing flat concrete roof and fabricated steel slope roof on top of it,even though it will be more costly

Checking Plan of house prepared

Query

Dear Sir,

I happened to view your blogs, thank you for the very good information . Please find the attached pdf file of my house plan. I am requesting for your suggestions

My reply

After going through plan forwarded by you for Evaluation following are my comments:

Vasthu aspects:

1. For a North facing house, Car porch should come at east or at middle of the front portion. Your car porch comes at west

2. Common toilet is coming at South West corner of house. Harmful

Architectural aspects:

1. Living room size insufficient. Sitting area after leaving passage will be only 265 x 350

2. Toilet length,300 too much for a width of 164.It will also increase your cost without giving proportionate benefits in space utilization

3. Toilets doors opening directly to bed room space in the case of both bed rooms will reduce effective space utilization for bed rooms

4. Inclined stair case will increase cost of construction and also it may cause slippage while climbing down stairs especially for elderly

5. Sit out size too big for that living room

6. No front steps from north side. It will cause inconvenience for anyone entering house

7. Stair area not properly ventilated causing darker space in stair area. Stair should not have been placed close to outer wall

8. From Kitchen, there should have been a door direct to Dining space. There is only an arch opening to stair area from Kitchen

9. Shelves inside walls are not present day trend. It will also increase cost

10. Kitchen sink, Fridge and Gas stove should form three corners of a rectangle for easier movement inside Kitchen.

11. Common toilet length 250 too much for a width of 150.180 is sufficient

Structural Engineering:

1. Dining, Stair area to be redesigned to reduce reinforcement cost of roof slab

Comments based on general feed back

Few notable facts which I happened to notice during interactions with different customers are given below:

Square feet cost of construction

People generally think that there is a “square feet cost of construction”  for house construction irrespective of design,soil conditions,site conditions,location,material used.

It is a factual error.Any one will know actual square feet cost of construction only after completion of house construction.Cost of construction of every house will be different as input cost varies rapidly with time,location,design and many other factors contributing to cost

Contractors who take up work do not follow same engineering standards or quality standards.In fact most of the contractors do not bother to get services of  qualified and experienced professionals for design,detailed drawings,instructions at site and guidance for work.In fact taking such services will reduce their profit margin not only by fees to be paid to professional but also for using proper materials as per engineering standards

I will not blame any of these house construction contractors for not availing and following professional assistance and guidance.They are basically in the business of house construction to make profit.Profit is essential for them to continue with the service they provide(survival) and for growth of their business.

They are forced to give a false square feet cost by simply assuming unknown input costs of construction as their customers insist on getting a “square feet cost”.If their assumptions go right and if they are able to get comfortable profit within that rate given,both owner of house and contractor will be happy.If the contractor is forced to reduce “rate” to get business he will try to manage to get profit by compromising on quality of construction while hiding it with sweet talks to owner of house.

Preferably owner of house should get experienced professional assistance in design of the house,drawings and instructions for each stage of construction till completion of the house.in fact an experienced professional can guide you to save cost of construction without compromising on quality of construction.But contractor may demand a different “rate” if you inform him on involvement of a professional.

Can any one who knows Auto CAD drawing prepare plan of your house?

Plan of your house to be built has to be designed by the best professional you can get with maximum exposure to house design and construction.Just by undergoing a professional course in a college no one become a good professional as our education system do not produce professionals with expertise.

A trained professional get exposed to design and construction of house with site exposure and acquire knowledge with each new work.If such an experienced person design your house,you can get better value for your money and better facilities for your house.He can also ensure that every bit of space available to you in the plot is utilised in the most appropriate manner.

Experienced professional also can design plan of your house in such a manner to get good Elevation.Lots of people think that all that an Architect can do is to give a good looking Elevation for any plan prepared by any one.Elevation of the house depends upon plan of the house.Plan will have to be designed in a manner to get a good Elevation and any plan prepared by any one can not have a good Elevation.

Free Consultation,2/10/12

Construction of house within limited budget

Quote

Dear Sir
I wish to spend 15Lacs to construct a new house near Oachira Kayamkulam.I want 3 BR+2Bath+kitchen+Hall+sit out and verandah & Car porch-Single Story.Can you suggest a plan.
Regards
Sreelal

My reply

While planning to construct a house, there are few points you should understand clearly:

1. Cost of constructing a house goes up every day. Each day passed make it costlier as cost of hundreds of materials used for constructing a house and labour goes up making it almost impossible for you to build a house with limited budget.

2. No body can predict exactly how much a house construction will cost as the process take at least a year from date of commencement of construction and cost of all inputs for house construction goes up everyday.

3. Only option left to a wise person will be to get professional design and guidance to minimise cost and to go for only essential facilities for the house if you have limited budget.

4. A three bed room house built in two story will not cost anything less than Rs.20 lakhs going by present cost levels which can only go up.

5. You should get a good design and start construction immediately with whatever funds you have.Otherwise,house construction will remain a dream for you forever.

Construction without getting sanction

Quote

sir,
i am a resident of Kochi. four years back we constructed the upstairs without the prior approval from the corporation.there was a land acquisition by the corporation for road expansion in-front of our house. our counselor told does not to worry about the plan, that he will look upon it. so we started our construction. we gave him the plan for approval but he now says the there is no road committee to sanction it.i want to know what measures should I take to make authorize our construction.i request u to please give me an advice as soon as possible.

My reply

First of all,you should not simply start construction just by hearing promise of a councilor or any other politician or official.No politician can waive off building rule provisions.Even if you manage to get anything done by bribing an official,if some one make a complaint in writing the official who took bribe from you will not come up to help you.Violation of rules are always violation of rules and you alone will be held responsible for it.

Even if you have constructed building without obtaining prior permission from concerned local authority,you can apply for regularisation of construction done if the said construction is as per Kerala Building rules.You can contact any Architect/Licensed Engineer/supervisor to get the construction regularised.

Clearance required

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Building Permit":
dear Mr Thomas,
Please let me know the clearances required for home construction if the 4.5 cent plot is facing a private mud road of 2.9m wide.

My reply

If the private road is only 75 meters long,you need to leave 2M clearance in front side.Otherwise you have to leave 3M clearance in front.Other sides which do not have a road close by will need clearance of 1M and 1.2M

Building rules clarification

Query

Dear Sir,

I booked an apartment in Kollam. The builder is yet to get the occupancy certificate from Kollam Corporation.

Grateful for your advice on the following -

1. The fire exit staircase is not separated from the building. It's one side is open to the outside. It is not separated from the public (common) area by any door. It leads to the ground floor lobby (not to outside the building). Is this acceptable?

2. The building is on a plot away from the NH & is accessed by a 4 meter corridor that is part of the plot. It is abutted only on one side by another public road. What is the minimum width of such corridor from fire-fighting angle.

3. Is the builder allowed to have the building water supply from a bore well dug in  adjacent property, where his another project is coming up.

Thanks for your valuable advice.

Regards,

Sukhatma Nair

My reply

It will be more appropriate if you check about these with Town Planning dept. of concerned local authority office like Panchayath/Municipality as I will not be able to reply to your queries without checking up the building permit and approved plan for the building concerned

Trying to design house by yourself

Query

Dear Mr Thomas

Happen to go through some of your blog answering questions from people.

I have some doubts or rather clarifications too . The plot I have is 6.75 cents and is a rectangular one at Calicut.

39 feet width and 79 feet length which has road on front and side (both private roads within the compound of villas).

My plan is to build a two story 2000 sq ft 3 bed house. what should be my ground floor area which will have one bed

living dining kitchen , utility area and store ? I need a front sit out and dining patio. My plan is to have a sloped roof house

with big glass/metal frame windows.

I have attached an idea of my planned areas for each space in my house. I need your expert advise and also let me

know if I need you to do the plan for this house , what are your conditions. Highly appreciate

My reply

Very few people know that house design require a qualified experienced expert.Most people think that owner of the house knows exactly where each room should come and size of rooms and other living spaces.Some people who can understand need of a professional for house design think that the professional is some one to draw as he tells to him to draw a plan

House plans are available free in some magazines,Some contractors offer house plan free of cost if you entrust construction work to them.In short many people think that seeking fees for preparing plan of the house is really bad on the part of a professional.Lot of people think that any one who can draw a plan will prepare the same plan which even the reputed Architect will prepare.

Please understand that plan of your house is the most critical most important drawing for your house construction.Just any plan prepared by any body including you will not be good enough.An experienced professional uses his knowledge acquired through years of his work while preparing plan of your house.There are so many details considered by an experienced professional which can give you more value for your money and better utilisation of limited space for building your house.

From my experience of building more than 200 houses in different parts of state of Kerala and designing many more houses,I can tell you that I have learned a lot by each project handled by me as each project will bring new problems to me.So you need an experienced professional to design the only house you will build in your life time.

Practically no owner of house will be able to understand implications of a Plan of the house(both good and Bad) just by seeing a plan.Only a professional can see through those lines drawn.Even you will be able to understand advantages and defects of the plan after completion of house construction.But it will be too late to do anything at that stage.

In my opinion you should tell what all you need in the house to the Architect in detail.Better to get him to visit your plot to understand your site conditions better so that he can visualise your future house better.A good plan can save you lakhs of rupees and also can provide better utility for built up space inside a house.

As cost of construction goes up everyday,it is very important to avoid wastages in costly built up space in a house.There is no better way to reduce cost of construction other than entrusting preparation of plan to an experienced Architect.If the Architect is good in Vasthu knowledge it will be much more better as it will help you to save money and ensure your prosperity while living in a Vasthu compliant house.

Renovating old house

Query

Sir,

I have a 2 storied 2700 sq.ft. house in Mavelikara. GF built by some 20 years back. 1^st floor by 2007. It is not vasthu complaint also. I purchased an old house and used the wood for its 1^st floor. It is in 22 cents. I am working in Sharjah. Nobody is at home. Only my relatives and neighbors are around.

It is like a ‘Paniteerathveedu’. Always some changes going on. I want to put an end to this renovation once and for all.

Is it possible to finally modify the whole house and make it beautiful for ever?

Is it better to demolish the whole and build a completely new one? I am totally upset now.

Can you help please?

Regards,

Vijayakumar

My reply

Renovating an existing house is a tricky affair.Before deciding on renovating the house,always try to get a professional to assess existing building.Seek his professional unbiased opinion whether the house is worth remodeling/renovating.In most cases,no one can exactly estimate cost involved in the renovation work.Leave the decision whether renovation is good or bad to the consultant

If he  recommends remodeling/renovation work tell him frankly how much money you are willing to spend on the work.Of course you will not be willing to spend money required for building a new house on remodeling.Based on your budget limitations,your consultant can suggest what all you can do within the budget constraints

Free Consultation,18,September,2012

VASTHU CORRECTION

Quote

Dear Sir

I started constructing the house based on an architect design and asari's correction

But now many were saying NE corner for kitchen not good for kitchen and south toilet on North facing house also not good

Construction nearly completing , attached here is the plan , of Ground floor as well as first floor

Can i correct anything on this by extending or building separate kitchen etc.?

Thanks

Ramakumar

My Reply

For North facing house,you have to keep positions of living spaces as given below:

1.Kitchen at South East,cooking facing east

2.Master Bed room at South west.Keep head towards south while sleeping

3.Pooja at North east

4.No toilets at South East,North east and South west corners

Where is the construction site?

What stage is construction?

If required I can visit site and suggest suitable corrections

Construction of house at Cochin

Quote

We  have a plot near Azad rd. approx. 6 cents, where we are planning to build an apartment.

In the mean time kindly give me a clarification on the following points.

- Do u build house as per vasthu shastra?

- Do u take undertake construction works?

- Can u give some reference of your works done in town.

Nimitha

My reply

We design house as per Vasthu

We take up complete construction of house from  design to finish including interior wood work and landscaping in a professional manner with transparent billing methods using latest technology

Nearer to Azad road at Kaloor,Cochin,we have designed and built a three story office cum residence for  a sitting Judge of High court at Shenoy Road and for a Retired Judge of High Court at Kaloor Kathrikkadavu Road.

My Facebook profile,Thomas Viruvelil gives pictures of houses designed and built by us in addition to pictures and details given in our  following websites:

www.keralaarchitecture.com

www.viruvelil.com

www.kerala-dreamhomes.com

Facebook profile

http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=531348963&sk=photos

Follow me on Twitter

http://twitter.com/#!/archtomy

Checking Plan of house

Sir,

the attached plan and other details are submitting for you kind consideration. i request your valuable opinion in the following matters.

1.whether a first floor can be constructed on the present building-building strength,foundation etc.

2.is any vasthu based problems are there in the present plan? if so how can it be rectified?

3.a staircase is there on the northern side of the building and ends at the backside. at the time of constructing first floor, i prefer to dismantle it & construct a new one from inside the building by extending the building to a little bit towards the back side. is it possible? is any vasthu problem will be there with regard to total calculation?

4..the building is in an 8 cent plot & we have an external toilet at the south west part of the plot.

5.the building is facing the east. but the steps are towards north.

6. inside the house,the internal toilet and gas stove are in a straight line across the building.

7.i need 3 more spacious bedrooms and a hall in the first floor. a detailed plan,estimate are requested from you with elevation considering all above matters and if needed with internal rearrangement of ground floor.the top of the first floor should be flat.Presently i have a solar water heater.that also should be accommodated.

expecting an early reply,

Pratheep

My reply

1.Whether first floor can be constructed or not can be  checked only after checking at site  foundation and soil conditions

2.Vasthu aspects can be checked only if direction facing the house and positions of roads near site are known

3.Adding Stair case to existing building-site inspection required to comment

4.Toilet at South west corner is harmful as per Vasthu

5.There is nothing wrong in North facing steps,though steps are better with climbing from west to east and from north to south

6.In this specific case,a site visit is required before plan for extension can be made and Estimate comes only after finalising plan of house

BUILDING HOUSE BELOW HIGH TENSION ELECTRIC LINES

Query

Dear Thomas Sir;

I read many of your very informative postings and found it very helpful. I request you to please look into my below query and give me your valued advise.

I am having a plot of 12 cents in Meenachil Panchayat near Pala. It is not a square plot but a rectangular with an approximate width of 30 m. Front side is facing a local panchayath road and one side is private road. there is an high tension line (220KV tower type) passing just behind the plot but I could see houses directly below it. The distance from main road is approximately 700m.

My maximum budget including all development expenses (raw plot to completed house with boundary wall and a well) is 25 Lac. Will it be possible to construct a house with following requirements with this budget?

3 bedrooms of reasonable size

1 Drawing+Dining

Sit out

Car porch

Kitchen

A store room+work area

Using good (not best available) quality material.

Or is it wise to sell the plot (I purchased it for about 15.5 Lac) and buyer  readily available one I checked few with a budget of 40 Lac but are made with very low quality material and wood.
Do you have any body working for you near Pala who can visit the plot?

Regards,

Binoy George

My reply

As per present cost indications(which are likely to go up in coming days),you may be able to complete house at a guess estimate cost of Rs.25 lakhs

Staying below 220 KV line is not healthy due to high inductive field which will form around it

Every contractor and builder design and build houses in his own way and no one bothers to do  good quality construction with professional design,supervision and professional standards in Kerala.

All that contractors look for is increase of profit in spite of continuous input cost increases and owner of the house simply look for contractor who offers lowest rate at the time of commencement of construction.If contractor ask for extra charges ,owner has no problems! Both owner and contractor do not bother about final cost figures! At that point owner will be anxious to finish construction some how and contractor will be looking for ways to extract maximum profits.This is continuously happening all over Kerala  and still people try to keep professional Architects/Engineers away thinking that they will increase cost of construction! In reality,they will save lakhs of your hard earned money.

Renovation of house

Query

HI,

WHILE CHECKING FOR THE RENOCATION OF MY EXISTING HOUSE ,I SAW THE SITE.

WE HAD A HOUSE IN MANANTHAVADY WAYANAD DISTRICT. FULLY COMPLETED ONE. NOW WE WANT TO RENOVATE THE BATHROOMS AND THE FLOOR TILES ,KITCHEN AND TO FURNISH THE HOUSE. FIRST I WANT TO KNOW U HAD ANY WORK IN WAYANAD, SECOND ABOUT THE TIMING, BECAUSE WE ARE IN ABU DHABI, WE WANT TO ARRANGE EVERYTHING WHAT WE NEEDED AND THEN EXICUTE THE WORK WITHIN TINE.

INTERIOR DESIGN CAN COMPLETE LATER.

IF U ARE ABLE TO GIVE A PROPER ADVICE, THEN I WILL SEND THE PLAN AND THE IDEAS .

I AM WAITING FOR UR ADVICE AND VALUABLE SUGGSTION.

MRS. LISY ANTONY.

ABU DHABI.

My reply

Mananthavady is a bit far from Cochin.But still we can consider working on remodeling of your house

Basically every one should understand that remodeling and renovation is not an easy task.New construction is always better and cheaper.For new construction,it is possible to estimate cost expected if not fully correct but to a great extent.For remodeling work as we go on dismantling portions of building and remove portions of built up work,new problems crop up.Unless you are willing to go for remodeling at any cost,do not attempt it.Most of the people attempt to remodeling thinking that it will be cheaper.

Again for remodeling work you cannot simply get contractors to get work done as you  feel good enough.Always ensure that you get expert professional assistance continuously from beginning to end of remodeling work.No contractor  can tell you exact cost of remodeling work in advance  even though you will insist on getting a cost indication before engaging a contractor for work.If contractor need the work,he will give some cost indication.If that indication give him good profit,he will keep quiet.Otherwise he will start asking for extras!

Flooring Material

Respected Sir,

Please permit me to introduce myself Biju George living in Ernakulum Dist. My building construction is on progress and I have searching materials for flooring. I have go through your blogs and really useful and informatics. I have severe problem in leg and I can’t bear the cold. So I have search the material suitable for the living style.

Please permit me to share my idea as follow

1 Complete Granite except bathroom

2 Sit out , Foyer, Stair, kitchen are granite, bathrooms tiles & bedrooms and dinning with clay tile

Your advice is very valuable for me to choose the correct materials,

Thanking you and looking forward from hear you,

My reply

Do not go for  Marble or Granite for flooring.Basically these are negative energy materials.When you walk on them with bare foot,or lie down on floor your body heat is taken away by these materials making you feel bad.These are also highly slippery in nature and thus can cause you damages due to slipping.Cost wise using granite will be as costly as going for teak  wood flooring which will be good for your health.

There are much more cheaper anti skid tiles with attractive designs manufactured by almost all tile manufacturers.Better go for it

Clay tiles are good excluding Kitchen and other high traffic areas.But now it is getting difficult to get due to non availability of clay.Most of the clay tile factories in Kerala are either closed or closing due to non availability of clay soil