#Kerala House Construction-Replies to your queries

TO CHECK THE PLAN

QUOTE

I came to know about you from your website and I am very happy to read all your article about House and Vasthu.My plot is located in Ernakulum, Vazhakkala. I am planning to make a home in my plot. I have a plan with me. I am sending it with this email.  I am also sending a sketch of my plot.  The total sq.ft. is coming more than 3000 including the car porch. I want it to be reduced to come below 3000.

Hope that you will revert me soon.

My reply

Plan sent by you has got both Architectural and Vasthu defects

As plan of the house is the most critical drawing which can make you gain or lose lakhs of rupees, it is very important that you get the best plan for the house and  not any plan available from anywhere

First step in construction of house is preparation of Basic Plan of the house

Site visit  before preparing plan will be better though plan can be prepared if you can give complete measurements of all four sides of plot, directions of each side and positions of roads near plot.

Basic Plan of the house will show positions and dimensions of rooms, other living spaces, doors and windows

We will be preparing this Basic Plan in AutoCAD software and you will get a pdf copy by email within a week of site visit.

Based on mutual discussions this plan prepared can be revised and reviewed and changes accepted by our experts can be incorporated in the plan, without any extra charges

This is the most important document for a house construction. 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.

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

I require detailed write up from you on what all you require in the house including your dreams for the house.

Our technical knowledge in the fields of Architecture, Structural Engineering and Vasthu will be used while designing your house.

Once the plan is finalised,we will prepare an Engineering Estimate giving item wise detailed cost information .This calculated Estimate is the near correct costing you can get for house to be built and it can be prepared only after finalisation of the plan. If you have any budget limitations, if such information is provided in advance design of the house can be suitably modified to reach near your budgetary cost.

RENOVATION OF EXISTING HOUSE

QUOTE

Dear Sir,

I am a Malayalee staying in Malaysia.

I intend to renovate my single floor terrace house and intend to incorporate

traditional Kerala architecture.

Would you be able to help me?

Looking forward for an early and favourable reply.

Padmanabhan Nambiar.

My reply

House renovation is basically much more costly than building a new house.While building new house we can design everything fresh.With the old house built by some body else you don’t even know how the construction was done.As you start chipping and demolishing parts,you face new problems not anticipated earlier and this creates a situation where cost of renovation/remodeling cannot be properly guessed or calculated.

In some cases remodeling can change the entire house from the point of utility and appearance.Only area where you cannot do anything will be foundation level.In most cases foundation height in old houses will be quite low and nothing can be done to raise it to a desirable level.

First step required when you think of remodeling is to get your house to be remodeled examined by a good Architect.He will be able to tell you whether it is worth going for remodeling.I remember in many cases where the client thought that remodeling was a good option,I have found it to be a waste of money and efforts and advised client accordingly.In most cases it is sentimental attachment getting higher than reasoning and wise judgment

#Kerala House Construction-Replies to your queries

SPECIFIC POSITION FOR HOUSE IN 8 CENTS LAND

QUOTE

Anonymous   has left a new comment on your post "Vasthu compliance":

I have only 8 cents of land, Is it necessary to define a position for house by vasthu specialist?

My reply

Even in 8 cents or even lesser area plot,a Vasthu expert can  suggest you an ideal location for house

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR 3 CENTS OR LESS PLOT

QUOTE

Dear Mr. Thomas,

I am Saju, I need to construct a new home at Amaravila ( TVM Dist. ) which is comes under Panchayath. My property belongs to only 3 cent. a panchayath road passing in front of this property & it cover almost 15 mtrs one side. I need to construct a new home by demolishing the old & I have the following doubts.

1. If i need to give a clearance of 3M from this panchayath road to the basement of new one ( If provided i have lost a huge area, since a well also comes under this property at the other side )

2. If i have obtain any consideration for this from panchayath or any other authority..

Please reply to this,

My reply

If your land has area 3 cents or less there are relaxations in building rule conditions applicable to you

It will be better if you go and meet concerned persons in the Panchayath with your land documents and check up exact clearances applicable to you as in addition to KBR provisions,there can be local restrictions imposed by local authority.

CONSULTATION SERVICES FOR PURCHASE OF LAND AND BUILDING

QUOTE

Good day.I'm Arun basically from Thiruvalla

I saw one of your post in internet regarding about your consultation service based in Kochi.i believe your post was 2 years old and  not much sure still you are on the same business.

i was planning to buy one house plot in Kochi,Eroor. can i avail your consultation service to complete the procedures and formalities until finish the registration .? especially land and its document verification.

My reply

Yes.We continue to offer complete professional services for land/property purchase.Please check following links in our websites:

http://www.keralaarchitecture.com/Architectural_guidance.aspx

http://www.keralaarchitecture.com/our_services.aspx

http://www.viruvelil.com/services.aspx

USING OLD WOOD FROM OLD BUILDING FOR NEW HOUSE CONSTRUCTION

QUOTE

Hi Sir,

This is shafeeque from Kannur. I'm working in IT company at Pune. We plan to demolish our old home and would like to build new one. Our home designed with plenty of wooden material and its having lots of wooden for "machu" . What is your opinion about using old wooden material instead of purchasing new one ( as per people old wooden material are very strong). and what type of material we can use from my old home.

Also can you construct home at Kannur. If yes please let me know your contact number so that i can contact you

My reply

Wood used in old house will have to be physically checked to see whether it can be re used.Over a period of time any wood looses its quality and start deteriorate.If the wood used was of extremely good quality,it may last more than other wood

As Per Vasthu,while building a new house no part of old house should be used..We can design your house in any part of the world.Taking up construction directly by us will have to be decided based on merit of each case.In cases where we do not take up direct execution of construction,we may act as designers/consultants.

BUILDING TOP FLOOR ABOVE 40 YEAR OLD HOUSE

QUOTE

Can u please advise if it is possible to take an additional room with bath  approx. 13x 13 and 5 x 5 on the first  floor of an old hose of 40 years with minimum cost ,Rs. 80000/=.using hollow  bricks and cheap materials for roof and doors . and if you have any office at Trivandrum

My reply.

First of all it is not advisable to construct first floor of a 40 year old house without checking structural stability of the building by a qualified and experienced Engineer.

Any meaningful cost calculation can be done only after preparing a plan of portion to be extended.Once we have the Basic Plan of the building ready, we can calculate cost using Engineering Estimate method.Again building on old existing building will call for so many unexpected cost elements.Without visiting site,I cannot comment on feasibility of the work.

We have our office only at Cochin .But we can handle work anywhere based at Cochin and hence no need for an office at Trivandrum

--

Kerala House Construction-Answers to your queries

QUOTE

Dear Sir,

My house is an old house( one part is more than 80 years and other part is around 45 years). Some rooms are very small, dark and not useful. I don't think it is made by planning. Now my father is planning to renovate it. I want my house to be with the same old structure but inside should be modified with rooms and other facilities. I want to know whether that is possible or not.If possible how much it will cost.

Ancy Varghese

Chalakudy

My reply

Unless structural stability of the building is checked by a professional,it cannot be ascertained whether the building is worth renovating.Normally modification/remodeling work on an existing building will cost more than building a new house as work involved cannot be properly quantified or estimated.

House construction is an Engineering work involving hundreds of materials and different types of labour with almost daily increase in their cost.So no one can exactly predict cost of construction which may get completed within one or more year from commencement of work.Even the Engineering Estimate prepared by an Engineer after carefully calculating work involved for each item of work can also give only an approximate indication  of cost.

All these talk of some fixed “square feet cost” is simply a lie used by non professional contractors to lure ignorant client.After the work starts client can not do anything else other than pay the contractor never ending extras demanded by him.With ever increasing input costs,contractor also cannot do anything else.

Better get the work done with qualified  experienced professional guidance so that you will not be taken for a ride by the contractor whose only objective is maximising his profit even compromising structural stability of the building.

Constructing Building on land described as Nilam

QUOTE

Hi Sir,

We are planning to construct a house in Trivandrum in the property which we inherited. The problem is that it was a paddy field before 30-40 years and is remained as barren land since i know. In the documents it is written as 'Nilam' . Is it possible to construct a house in this land. If so, what should we do first and whom should be contacted.

please give me advice in this area, as we don't know anything detailed in this aspect.

Lakshmi

My reply

First of all  check up with concerned building Inspector  for your land area( described by  Survey No)with Corporation of Trivandrum or concerned local authority as the case may be by showing the copy of Deed whether there will be any objection for obtaining permit for Building Construction

If there is objection,you can apply to a concerned committee comprising of Agricultural officer,Tahsildar etc. for waiving objection on account of land being described as paddy field.The committee will visit plot and after ascertaining the present status of land,will give you sanction to build house..

Trying for Cost reduction while building house

QUOTE

Dear Mr. Thomas,
I am Benny Joseph working in Saudi Arabia. Just now I started to make a home for me. The area is 2350 SFT.As soon as started work everybody says it will cost me around 4,000,000.My budget is for 2000000 only. I planned for a two story building with 4 bed room,living,family living,kitchen and work area. In the first floor we planned for two bed room and one living room plus one balcony.Altogether it will be 950 sft only.I already decided to put concrete windows and door frames except front and back doors to save money. If I do just stress roof on first floor without concreting will it help to reduce construction cost.
Do you services available in Northern Kerala.I am from Kannur.I am planning to come for a three months vacation in August. Can you do the construction if that case what will be your terms. Basement is already made.
 
Waiting an early reply.

With warm regards,

My reply

See,this is the problem.While building a house you should not listen to “everybody” They will put you in to real trouble.They have nothing to loose in giving “advices”

What you need is qualified experienced professional advice.Even for reducing construction cost your Architect can give a cost effective design and advise you on how to get best value for your limited funds while building house

Our services are available for any one anywhere in the world.For locations where it is practically impossible for us to take up construction directly,we can act as designers and consultants during progress of work guiding you and your workers to get maximum value for your money