Execution

  • Structural design by shrI pramod of http://www.mahijaa.com/, protege of shrI yogAnanda of grAmavidyA.

  • Plans

  • Execution of building by contractor shrI nAgesh and his son shrI vijay - Dec 2019 to Apr 2021. His team of subcontractors included

    • Mr prabhu (electrical, represented by zAkir and parashurAm), lingAreddy (plumbing)
    • ravi reddy (painting) - unhappy with supervision and execution.
    • Munna/ munirAju (window/ door carpentry)
    • kumaresh (floor tiles).
    • vIresha and family were the resident guards.

  • We separately engaged shrI santosh for interior cabinets and wardrobes (excellent experience)

  • shrI ramAkAnta (musquito screens).

  • BWell - rudraprakAsh.

  • Building tips elsewhere.

Defects and regrets
  • chajja-s - Dissatisified with tile chajja execution. Should have gone with RCC chajja-s in hindsight.
    • Some of the tile chajja-s did not adequately cover the windows! Noticed this months after construction completion. Exposed wood accrued rain damage.
    • L2 front bathroom window shutter top is too close to the steel beam holding up the tiles. Could not even close it in winter.
    • Steel beams used in the tile chajja-s remain unpainted.
  • Painter defects
    • l4 FLOOR polishing - black spots
    • l1 floor polishing - bucket placement mark in hall and room
    • Cleaning off putty in 1F deva-gRha remained impossible (painters cited “rough surface”).
    • Painters missed certain spots in L3 when applying clear coat paint - back wall and wall above chajja towards the stairs. This led to dampness after rains. After months of delays, this was corrected later in 202204 by filling with putty, repainting. 2k charged.
    • Paint peeled off window frame in L2 rear bathroom.
  • Wooden door for bathroom was a bad idea. Lower portion was later patched by screwing over plastic foamy boards.

Wood

Doors

  • L0, L1, L2 Main Doors, L0 pUjA door - Solid Teak + polish.
  • L2 external room door, L3 main door - Solid Honne
  • Interior doors - Greenply Flush plywood (Hollow)
    • In bathroom, lower portion was later patched by screwing over plastic foamy boards.

Interior cabinets

  • Wood laminates are often synthetic polymers. Polishes and varnishes tend to be synthetic as well. We went with Birch Plywood imported from Russia, purchased from Khemka Plywood at good prices. Quite good - mostly doesn’t need polish - but better with it.
  • In hindsight, we should have done edge-bending lamination to mitigate bends in doors. Also, in some places, we saw mild mold formation. This was solved with linseed oil application.
  • Much of the wooden surfaces was polished with Raw linseed oil.

Planning

  • Paperwork: BBMP approval was by Kiran(?).
  • BESCOM contractor (for permanent connection) was nAgarjuna / manju (smooth talking scamster).
  • BWSSB contractor was Govindarajulu (via nAgArjuna).