Queries for free consultation on
Kerala House construction, Kerala Architecture may be sent to
and not by posting in blogs as
your reply will be delayed quite long
Building design and Construction
Query-1
I am George. I found you mail
id for support while I was browsing for getting a rough idea about
construction of house in Kerala (link obtained fromhttp://www.keralaarchitecture.com/Architectural_guidance.aspx).
Actually I was born & brought up
in New Delhi & my ancestral home is at Pathanamthitta. As of
now I am planning to build a home in my ancestral property. Can you please
guide me till what extent of area for construction I can go for, if my budget
can vary from 30 to 35 lacks.
My basic idea is like :-
In ground floor - 2 bedrooms (both
attached), hall, dinning room, kitchen, work area, sit-out, & car porch.
In second floor 1 bedroom (bath attached),
1 hall & veranda.
Can you please guide that with the
budget mentioned what modifications I can make.
George
My reply
Basic problem with most of those who
venture in to house construction is that they lack even basic information on
house design and construction
I have designed and built directly
more than 200 houses in Kerala and acted as consultant for many more buildings.
Not even one of these clients had complete fund required for construction on
commencement of construction
A new house is built on two needs of
a person. First one is his dreams for the house and second, his needs for house
Before searching for so called square
feet cost for building a house, you need to sit down with an experienced
building professional preferably after a visit to proposed plot with him to
discuss on various options and possibilities on your needs and dreams for house
First finalise on your needs for
house taking guidance from professional
Tell him about how much money you can
raise including loan from banks(It is always cheaper and netter to get bank
loan if you do not have sufficient funds as banks offer long term repayments
with lower interest for housing. As you pay instalments after years, real money
value will come down and your investment in property might have appreciated lot
in money terms
After the designer prepare basic plan
of the house which shows dimensions of each living space, their positioning,
positions and sizes of doors and windows try to understand implications of plan
with assistance from professional as you may not be able to visualise your
future house from plan drawings
If discussions with designer result
in need for changes in plan, get it changed. We do not charge anything extra
for such mutually accepted changes in plan
For assistance in design and budget
planning of your future house, write to me to
Query-2
I have 9 cents land, would like to make a two story home for
only rent purpose including 2 bed room one dining and kitchen, let
Me know the budget and contractor and other details.
Me know the budget and contractor and other details.
Rajesh
Query-3
I am Prasanth from Palakkad. And am planning to build a
bungalow type of house in Kerala style . am looking for labour contract , as I
want to supply the construction materials, bcoz am not satisfied with the
materials the turnkey ( complete) contractors give . so I want to know the
approx that I can give for structure alone . For other things .. Like plumbing
painting and carpenters I like to give contract separately. So could u please
advise me about this .
My reply
Look, how casually people look at building construction as if
someone can predict cost of building without any data. Cost of building depend
upon several factors
1. Plan of the
building: A Professionally designed plan bring in expertise and experience of
the professional to utilize built up space most economically with maximum
utility. So you save money in lakhs by paying an expert in thousands
2. Soil conditions: Soil condition can change cost as non-stable
soil conditions may need costly foundation
3. Professional monitoring of work with detailed design drawings.
Nonprofessional contractors do not bother about detailed
Architectural/Structural design drawings for construction. They build as they
feel like keeping only their operational profit as objective. By allowing
contractor to build as he like, you are damaging structural stability and
Architectural quality of construction thereby wasting your own money
4. Proper selection of building materials. People only think of
brand of cement used and not about hundreds of building materials used and are
unaware of technology upgradations in the field.A professional can guide you on
better materials and definitely not those whom you meet in your daily life who
may offer free advices
5. Proper planning of building work: Here again a professional can
guide you well to save your money and to get you better quality construction
6. Quality of workers: Not all workers do any type of construction
work with same quality. Only a professional can assess work properly and to
ensure that you get better quality construction. Square feet cost contractor
will naturally engage poor quality construction workers to increase his profit
margin
7. Nonprofessional contractors who offer “square feet of cost of
construction” do not follow common specifications or engineering standards and
hence cost of one contractor cannot be compared with that of another. For
building construction activity which involves hundreds of materials, different
type of labour, and exact cost after a year or more for construction cannot be
predicted by any one. “Square feet cost” is a term used by nonprofessional
contractor to attract customer without proper knowledge on construction cost
and he knows how to save on both material and labour to save his profit in
spite of increase in input costs.In addition he will go on demanding extra
charges at each stage of construction
Buying old house
Query-1
I have plans to buy a pre-owned
house. Please let me know what are the necessary things i have to take care and
how to calculate the rate of the house .
Sahasranamam
My reply
When you think of
buying property go to our website, www.keralaarchitecture.com and check link
Architectural guidance. You will be guided on documents you should check about
existing property
As a layman, you
cannot simply invest your money on a building based on your personal assessment
of the property. Even when it is a land property you need professional guidance
to purchase plot/house/building/apartment.
A professional will
arrange to check legal documents through legal associates and also check on
Architectural, Structural Engineering and Vasthu aspects of the building. He
can also guide you on reasonable cost of the building you intend to purchase.
Unless you get such professional advice, do not attempt to buy the
property/building. After purchase, you cannot do anything other than suffering
for avoiding professional guidance
Our company offers
legal assistance, documentation assistance and technical, Vasthu evaluation of
plot and building. Write to
Remodeling of existing house
Query-1
I have come to understand from your website that
you are in the business of re-modelling and construction.
We have a two bedroom 25 year old house We would
like to re-model it, with the construction two additional bedrooms on the
terrace.
Kindly advice as to how we can go about doing
it.
Thomas
My reply
Most of the houses in Kerala Which I visited for
checking possibility of remodeling and few houses which I remodeled and
extended had one thing in common. All of these were built by no professional so
called “square feet cost contractors” who never bothered about quality of
construction or engineering. Due to lack of engineering there was no proper
Architectural plan of the building and there were lots of wastage of built up
space
In one case, the contractor reduced roof height
by one feet (usual roof height is 10 feet) and the house owner noticed it only
after 20 years of stay in the house when I told him about it. By reducing roof
height square feet cost contractor saved money without even owner of house
noticing it. Beams were concreted without even bothering about size, quality
and no of steel rods used in it making contractor happy with profit
When remodeling/extension is done by a
professional agencies these defects in original building construction will be
the major problem. New building contractor cannot take responsibility of lack
of quality and engineering in the original building and defects/deterioration
in structural stability it may cause.
In any case, remodeling can be attempted only
after a proper evaluation of existing building by a qualified, experienced
building professional. Additions/modifications not recommended by an expert
should not be attempted
Lack of construction quality ad engineering will
naturally cause breakages/leaks in concrete roof, plaster breaking and breaking
of building parts. A building constructed by a non-professional square feet
cost contractor may not last well beyond 30 years. A properly designed and
built building can normally go on well for hundreds of years with proper
maintenance/house keeping
If remodeling/extension of building is
recommended by our experts we can take up work with expert workers, quality
construction and proper engineering. Write to me to check feasibility of
extension/remodeling and for remodeling work which includes all forms of
construction and interior wood work
vhthomas@viruvelil.com
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