Our House construction experience

[khan]

For filling up soil, what I did was the following. Was checking where a builder is building a huge apartment and is in starting phase. Luckily there were people digging and lorries coming out taking the dug soil and dumping somewhere. I stopped the driver at a signal and asked him how much he would charge if he dumps the soil at my location. Paid 800 rupees for one soil load of a big lorry.

[sano]

Hi Ravi,

Good going and keep it up!
Can you let me know how much was the total cost for your sump (labour + materials)
I'm also planning to make it with red bricks walls, concrete on bottom and top. My mastri is asking Rs.3/ liter (only labour). Is this reasonable?

Thanks,
Sano

[venkyn]

Hi Ravi,

Gunny bags are not seen for curing at your site. Hope curing using them is taken care.

Regards,
Venky

[ravivasudeva]

ravivasudeva,

Good details.. Could you also eloborate more on:

1. WHat is the cost estimate for 1 chadra?
2. Are you going for Labour contract or full contract with a builder?
3. How much deep you went for borewell and what was the digging cost and pumpset cost?
4. WHat is your site over all dimension? How many floors..chadras per floor?

Please share more details on your experience as it will help me and many others like me..I am planning to construct soon

Hi,
Here are the details.

1. 1500 per square feet which includes 3k liter overhead tank, 12k liters underground sump, all round parapet wall upto 5 feet high. But final construction would not come to 1500, it would be much higher.
2. Its Full contract
3. Drilled for 725 feet costing 86,000. Pump set costed another 70,000.
4. Its (47 + 55)/2 * 30 i.e. 1530 sft. Total Construction would be roughtly for 33 chadras. GF will have 2 BHK house and 2 car parking. FF would have a duplex house. SF would have two more bedrooms for our house and a 1 BHK house. In that sense GF would be 9 chadras, FF and SS 12 chadras.

[ravivasudeva]

Hi Ravi,

Gunny bags are not seen for curing at your site. Hope curing using them is taken care.

Regards,
Venky

Hi Venky, thanks for concern, it so happened that during soil filling they were removed, its being put back today.

[ravivasudeva]

Last week was a busy week and new person supplied good quality soil - in total 15 lorry of soil was used and JCB worked for 8 hrs to fill it. Total expense came around 16k rupees. On the same day evening, just as the soil filling was completed, heavy rain lashed and a lot of excess soil which was in and around my site washed away! We had a wait for couple of days for soil to be dried under sun to finally start manually pressing the soil. Yesterday they put 40mm jelly with concrete and made a bed on top of the soil.

In the mean time Ground water recharge pit (most people confuse it with RWH but its not) was also dug up and 5 rings were inserted. Each ring is 21 inches high. Diameter seems to be about 2.25 feet.

At the same time the design for the external staircase was discussed and my architect also prepared the elevation for initial review, which you can see here.

Centering work for roof is going to start today. Roof is to be completed soon after Dasara festival, hope we stick to the time.

Soil filling

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Ground water recharge pit

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[ravivasudeva]

Elevation

[ravi555]

Thank you for the information again.

The elevation looks good

[arunthl]

design looks awesome.. Wish you a very happy construction...!!!!

[rajeevanand]

Cement discussion

During the contract, i mentioned them to use Birla Super Cement (since this is what most of my friends told me). When i arrived at the site few days back, i see they are planning to do PCC with Zuari i.work 43 grade OP Cement. I asked contractor to explain why no Birla Super. He said that the Birla Super is 53 grade only and that they do not need 53 since it is not required in ordinary circumstances [Unless it is raining so that you need fast setting or need for high compression strength]. We further discussed that we would use the following cements for construction in future.
.

I agree. Different grades of cement can be used for different parts of construction as per my co-brother who is also a civil engineer. You need not use 53 grade everywhere.