Kerala House Construction: Free consultation,25,August,2014

How to send your queries for free Consultation from Thomas Viruvelil

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vhthomas@viruvelil.com

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House Construction cost

Query-1

I'm Renuka from Cherthala.planning to build a house.my plot is 5 cents,land original soil.i would like to build
a 1000 sft 3bedroom house.my budget is 12 lakhs.kindly advise whether
a single storied or double storied plan will be more cost
effective?whether there is any advantage to contemporary style over
traditional one?what may be the approximate cost for foundation for
single and double storied plans?How can i build it more cost
effective?kindly advise.

My reply

House construction involves hundreds of materials and different type of labour.Cost of all these inputs keep going up almost everyday causing  cost increase everyday

Most of the houses in Kerala are built by non professional contractors who do not know anything about Architecture or Structural Engineering.Luckily for them even the owner of house for whom construction is done also do not know about importance of using knowledge of Architecture or Structural Engineering.It allows contractor to do construction as he pleases compromising quality of construction and design and making him comfortable with his profit

Whatever may be the amount of money you may have,it will be possible to construct a house with that money.Best use of your money can be possible only if you get professional involvement and guidance from beginning to end of house construction

Most important part of house construction which decides cost,facilities and utility of built up space is the design of the house .Just any one who knows how to draw a Pan and Elevation in Auto CAD can give you the best possible design.Just a degree in Engineering or Architecture will not make any one an expert in design as our educational institutions do not produce persons who can perform with professional competence.So you need a qualified experienced expert who will give you advantages of expertise gained by being a practicing professional

Deciding in advance certain sft plinth area of house and facilities and looking for a contractor who will promise to give you all these within the budget figure fixed by you can only be a dream.Non professional contractor who need work for his survival may agree to anything to get work from you knowing well that you can be made to shell out more money as work progresses

In 5 cents plot,u cannot have three bed rooms and usual living spaces in ground floor.You will have to go for two floors.If you have more land building house with three bed rooms in single floor will be cheaper

Traditional Kerala architecture with at least slope sunshades will be better suited to Kerala climate with more than six months rain.Going for only flat sunshades may make your outer walls wet due to heavy rains.Your Architect will be the better person to decide on appearance of your house considering all aspects in each case

Query-2

Sir, I am Midhun, . I am planning to build a new home. I am a strong believer of vastu concepts, so i made a plan for my house with the help of a vastu expert ,an "aashari" who is not an engineer. I send the image and pdf file of the plan for your advice. The area of house is 1260 Sq ft. If possible i want to limit the total expenditure to 15 lakhs.

I wish to give labour contract to my neighbor who is a friend also. He says he can do labour either for Rs.300/- for sft or for daily "thachu" basis. They charge  700/- for mason and 600/- for helper He also said when they measure sft area, it includes area of the walls also. I am very confused about that. I don't want to loose our friendship after this project and he is unable to explain it properly.

I have a plan for GYPSUM plastering for inside walls which i will be giving a separate contract.

From the beginning i always say that i am not making the house for others eyes, but only for me and my family.. so the exterior beauty is not an issue for me

My reply

It is a typical case of how people go about designing and building a house in Kerala.He has not considered design of the house important enough.A Plan prepared by any one is good enough.He do not realise the fact that proper design can reduce cost and offer better facilities at lesser cost

While proceeding on construction he do not think it necessary to have an expert to provide detailed drawings at each stage and visit site to give instructions to workers.Workers engaged on daily wages will try to increase days of work and the contractor who may get a cut on daily wages of worker may also like the idea of earning without doing any work

He also think that an Architect can only make his house look better and nothing else which he consider a waste of money

Query-3

I  Varier working as teacher, decided to construct a hose of maximum 12x12 M house I wish to construct it in a Kerala nalukettu model  Is it possible construct it with in this dimension. I need 2 bed room , one office room, a hall ,kitchen , dining,and a Nadumuttam not more than 9mt sq.waiting for your suggestions rules

My reply

A Nalukettu house with two bed room in single floor may require at least 3000 sft in plinth area.Nalukettu type construction is costly and open Nadumuttom in centre will be a security and climate threat.It will not be easy to seal open court yard on security aspect especially since houses in Kerala do not have many members staying these days.Rain and insects will fall down in centre of house creating more trouble.

Dimension wise 12M x12M will not be enough for such a house.Unless you are very particular of having Nalukettu house whatever may be the cost do not go for it

Query-4

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Free Consultation,25,October,2013":
We had property at Kanthalloor, hill top station. Total property is apprx 40 cents. Want to construct mud house & wood house for home stay and Ayurveda treatment. Is there anybody who is technically sound and can guide us in construction at a reasonable rate on the construction.

My reply

We can take up work if we find it workable after a Site visit and assessment

Query-1

Sibi has left a new comment on your post "Building Permit":
Please anybody tell me how much is the minimum width for a  panchayat road in Kerala..

My reply

It will be better to check with your local administration office with specific details of plot like Survey No and location sketch to know exactly clearance space required in your case

Interior work

Query-1

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Free Consultation,25,October,2013":
I recently purchased a 2 BHK flat of 1600 sft in Kakkanad. I know that work of interiors will vary depending on material used. Still what is the approx. rate in case the same has to be carried out in a decent manner.Also please inform whether your firm carries out the interior works alone.

My reply

We can do any portion of work for a house or flat in part or full subject to decision of our management after assessing each case.This is what we can do related to construction activities

For making your dream house a reality we can do following for you

1. Assistance in land purchase

We can arrange technical and legal evaluation of property with site visit by technical expert, verifying property documents by documentation experts and lawyers and also arranging property registration formalities with expertise and professional services. Land and House purchase loan can be arranged through M/s HDFC Limited

2. House design

In the present situation, where cost of all inputs used for House construction going up every day, cost control and obtaining maximum utility for money spent can be achieved only by house design by experienced expert building professional. With over 200 houses built directly by us in different parts of Kerala and many more buildings designed, we have expertise and experience which you may not find elsewhere

3. House Construction

In Kerala, people look for a contractor who offers lowest “square feet cost”. Each house will cost differently depending upon design; work involved material used, site conditions etc. and there cannot be a common “square feet cost of Construction”

Each contractor build as per his choice of materials, labour and most of them do not even know about Architecture or Structural Engineering. There can be common rates for construction only if all contractors follow same specifications, and Engineering standards which never happen. Unless you have an expert experienced building professional to provide technical drawings and construction is monitored on a daily basis you cannot ensure that a contractor looking for profit will do a quality work satisfying engineering standards

We offer professional quality work with latest technology and trends using expert workers closely monitored by Architects and Engineers

4. Vasthu Consultancy and Vasthu compliance for House Design

We follow Vasthu Sasthra while designing house for you thereby ensuring peace and prosperity during your stay in the house. We can also visit your house under construction and existing house to check on Vasthu aspects and to suggest suitable changes in building to ensure Vasthu compliance

5. After structure work and checking of work done

We can take up any work related to construction from beginning to end. Even in case where you already working with another contractor, we can visit site, check on work already done and advise on future works

It will be better to have our expert services for after structure works like Plumbing, Electrical, painting, flooring and Interior wood work even in cases where you have opted for a contractor for structural work

We can also act as Consultants giving detailed execution drawings and periodic site visits

6. Remodeling of existing house

In many cases your existing house can be remodeled and renovated with our guidance and involvement. We have done several such remodeling works in different parts of Kerala using our expert workers

7. Interior wood work and Furniture

We have fully equipped manufacturing facility at Cochin for taking up Interior wood work like Modular Kitchen, cupboards etc. All goodness of traditional Kerala Architecture including hand carving of wood can be done with modern technology inputs

8. Consultancy and supervision

We can act as consultants for your project giving technical as well as management consultancy for smooth running of your house construction project or any other Engineering/Management related activity. If you are an NRI, we can keep you posted on daily progress of work through specific blog for the project which will have complete progress details of project including pictures from site on a continuous basis. Even in cases where you opt to have a different builder we can give technical drawings, site visits to ensure quality and technical correctness of work on a regular basis. Details of consultancy package offer available on request