Selection of Construction Site - Vastu Tips Part - 3

Sites which are NOT GOOD for Construction :-

Avoid a haunted/dilapidated house: The Plot should not be purchased, if in the recent past someone has committed suicide on it, or if there have been several deaths over a period of a couple of months. The Reasoning - You may psychologically feel uneasy if you happen to know of such a past.

Avoid Plots sold by a person in distress: Such Plots should be purchased only with caution. The Reasoning - You feel psychologically unhappy and guilty, knowing that the Plot was sold out of helplessness and that the previous owner must be still holding onto it.

Avoid Sites near a public place: The Plot should not be abutting any public place like temple, hospital, factory, school, college, Kalyan Mantapa etc The Reasoning - These places will constantly be crowded and noisy. But if they are at least 80 ft away, then the plot is acceptable.

Avoid Sites that were previously owned by a temple or charitable trust: The Reasoning – People are looking for reasons to raise a temple and if it is known that the plot was previosly owned by a temple trust, there will be a lot of pressure to donate it for the temple or charity.

Avoid Sites near smelly places: The Plot should not be near a meat shop, workshop, leather tannery, laundry, shoe shop, dustbins, sewage drains etc. The Reasoning - The stench emanating from these places will permeate the house permanently and naturally not create a relaxed atmosphere in the house.

Avoid sites where cactus grows: The Reasoning – Such sites indicate sandy soil which will not support the foundation effectively.

Avoid sites in which there are lot of termites: The Reasoning - Even if anti-termite treatment is done on the foundation, there is a every likelihood that the termites will not be eradicated completely since the termites form a vast underground network.

Avoid a Plot sandwiched between larger plots: The Reasoning – The owner of the smaller Plot can only construct  a much smaller house than the owners of the larger plots and thus, may subconsciously feel ’small’  and overpowered with respect to the neighbours. This can create a feeling of inferiority in the owner.

Avoid Sites with obstructions: Don’t buy a Plot with obstructions like hills, tall buildings or towers on the North, North-East or East sides. The Reasoning - The useful morning sun’s rays will be blocked. However having such obstructions on the West or South sides are considered good as they block the hot western rays.

Avoid plots with an electrical pole or power supply station in the North-East corner: The Reasoning – It is an obstruction and can create harmful electric waves, that can permeate the house from the open North-East corner.

Avoid plots with lot of cracks or too much wet soil: The Reasoning – Cracks indicate dried up clayey soil and too wet soil also indicates clayey soil that does not allow the drainage of water. Such soil is not suitable for a building foundation as it will retain moisture and necessitate extra expenditure for water-proofing the foundation

Avoid Plots with trees: If the Plot is a small one, there should not be trees like Peepal, Mango, Banyan, Tamarind etc on it. The Reasoning – These trees have far-spreading roots and branches, which can cause damage to the building foundation. However, if the Plot is quite big, it is good to have these trees, but away from the building and not in the North-East corner.

Avoid Plots facing a T or Y intersection: The Reasoning – This is because you can see oncoming traffic and this may make you feel a bit nervous or lack of privacy. However, in some cases, as explained below, such plots are acceptable.

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Selection of Construction Site - Vastu Tips Part - 2

According to Vastu Shastra, the location of the Site is very important. Some  locations are very auspicious while some others are best to be avoided. Vastu Shastra lays down guidelines to aid you in the Selection of a Site with the best ‘Location’. Since Vastu is a science, every guideline is based on logic and reasoning. As an Architect, I have attempted to explain these guidelines rationally and scientifically, so that you can decide what you want to follow and what you don’t, instead of blindly following them like a superstition.


Ideal Location :-

Peaceful, calm place with lot of greenery and good water source and good soil.The Logic - Fertile soil is an indication of good soil for construction. Peace is what everyone seeks.

Trust your intuition: When purchasing a property, it is a good idea to stand on the land and feel its vibration for a few moments. If you feel positive about it, consider buying the land. If not, it is probably not good for you. The Reasoning - It is always advisable to trust your instinct but make sure you are not influenced by anything or anyone else.

Plot with a good history: It is best to buy land where happy and successful people have lived. The Reasoning – Psychologically, you will feel that a land where people were happy and prosperous, has good vibrations or energy.

Plot with roads on all four sides is considered the best: It ensures health, wealth and happiness. The Reasoning - This is because a Plot with roads on all four sides is not abutting any body’s property and hence one can derive maximum lighting and ventilation from all four sides.

The next best option is a Plot with roads on the North or East.The Reasoning - So that more light and air can enter from these sides in the mornings.

Plots with a water source in the North, East or North-East are good: The Reasoning- The germicidal UV rays of the morning sunlight, which engulf the North-East corner in the morning, can purify the water before you start to use it.


Keep Reading my blog for the next post on Selection of Construction site-Vastu Tips

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Selection of Construction Site - Vastu Tips

Selection of a Site: The Selection of a Site is very important since the Site represents a fixed form, that will radiate positive as well as negative energies depending on its location, orientation, shape, slope and soil quality. Therefore, these are the 5 important aspects to be considered when selecting a Site.

Selecting a suitable Site: Normally an Architect is not involved at the time of buying a Site. But as an Architect myself, I suggest that it is better to involve an Architect early on, at the time of selecting a Site, as his inputs could be very valuable in deciding the right Site. Generally, the points an Architect will keep in mind while selecting a site, will by default be in accordance with Vastu Shastra, since Vastu principles are always based on Common Sense and Logic.

Already own a Site: In case you already own a Site, you can still refer to the Vastu Guidelines for Site Selection, to help you evaluate your Site and if necessary, make corrections to make it suitable.

Keep reading my blog for the next step to know how to choose a good construction site....

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Studio Apartment - Make it Maximize

Studio apartments have a lot to offer, even though the available space can be skimpy. They're cozy. Don't underestimate the ability of a small space to create intimacy. The trick is to add the other necessary elements, like furniture, color and storage, carefully. It's easy to make a small space look too crowded if you aren't paying attention to detail. You might have way too many things for the space, but then again, they might just be organized incorrectly for the flow of traffic.


1. When you don't have the luxury of lots of space, the first thing you have to do is strategize how you'll make everything work well together. One foolproof way to start is by using a monochromatic palette. It will make the space look larger and will work with, rather than against, the other elements in your design. Choose the same or similar shades for the walls, carpets and drapes. This doesn't have to be a compromise move, even if you love vivid color. Just indulge yourself in your choice of accessories, wall art and textiles.

If this sounds bland, there are hidden benefits you may not have considered. If your studio apartment has odd angles or other irregularities that you want to camouflage, they'll tend to blend into the background when you keep it neutral. A neutral palette will also make it easier to perform seasonal wizardry, like switching out a cherry red area rug for a pastel green option in spring.

2. Scale is important in rooms that are either too small or too large. Instead of a standard sofa, use a loveseat or two. Take advantage of the ability of glass to blend with its surroundings by using it liberally in your choice of shelving and tables. When you shop for furniture, opt for pieces with onboard storage, like headboard/bookshelf combos, storage ottomans and side tables with built-in drawers. Evaluate the footprint of all the pieces you buy. Once the furniture is in place, you'll still need space to walk around it. Shallow dressers, drop-leaf tables and modular computer desks are easier to incorporate into a small space than their conventional counterparts. Be choosy about what you buy, and look for scaled-down options.

3. Your studio apartment design should conform to the flow of traffic in, out, around and through the space. Determine how you and your guests will use the space, and then establish dynamic living areas based on that. The location of the entrance, bath, kitchen, windows and other stationary fixtures will get you started. Defining specific areas with dividers, specialty lighting or carpeting will help anchor the space and create natural breaks and focal points.

4. Studio apartments usually have meager storage, so make the most of modular storage options and clever solutions like space bags and open shelving. Wall-mounted and freestanding shelves can do triple duty as dividers, wall storage and decoration. If they're partly made of glass or glass block, they can also help open up the space and maximize the available light.

Small spaces can make a big impact when you incorporate scale, neutrals and a practical layout into your design. It's a winning combination that's always in style.

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Pooja Room - Vastu Effects

Pooja room is a place where we worship God for peace and prosperity. Ishanya or north-east is governed by God and is an excellent location for pooja room. Locating ‘Pooja room’ in north-east brings prosperity, good health, wealth, happiness and peace of mind.North-east is auspicious for other reasons. In morning sunrays fall directly from north-east and give us positive energy.

Location of Pooja Room

North-east is an excellent location for Pooja room. Pooja room in north quadrant provides good results. You can opt east, north and north-east for pooja room.  Avoid other directions if possible. Special pooja’s can be performed in Brahmasthana (center of house). In big plots, pooja room can be in Brahmasthan (central portion) of the house. Pooja room should not be inside bed room. It should not be made above, below or next to toilet or kitchen. It should be on ground floor, not on first floor or in basement. Avoid Pooja Room under the stairs. 



Planning a Pooja Room

Doors and windows of pooja room should be in North and East. Doors of pooja room should have two shutters. The doors should not have any door closer. There should be a ventilator.Walls of pooja room should be painted in white, light yellow or light blue color. The floor of pooja room should be of white or off white marble. Cupboard for placing things should be in South or West of pooja room. It is beneficial to have a threshold in pooja room.

Interior of Pooja Room

Idols of God should be kept in north-east portion of pooja room. The idols should not face one another and the door of pooja room also. The two idols of same god should not be placed in pooja room. The idols should be 1 inch away from walls. ‘Kalash’ or water body is in North or East of the room. ‘Deepak’, lamp and ‘Agni’ kund are in south-east. We should face East while worshipping. Avoid keeping heavy idols in pooja room. Cluttered and broken idols should not be placed in pooja room. Avoid photos of dead people in pooja room. Keep pooja room clean and clutter free. There should be one pooja room in a house. The room should not be used for other purposes like storage or other room.

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Area Of House - Understand The Terms And Language

Buyers of real estate should be very aware of what the builder or seller implies when he talks about area. What area is inclusive of and what it is not is the first clarification a buyer should seek.

For instance, a builder may tell a potential buyer that his quote is based on an area covering 3,000 sq ft. And, it may seem like a bargain. But what the buildermay be referring to is super built-up area while the unfortunate buyer is under the assumption that it is the amount of area he will get in his apartment.

TYPES OF AREA

Carpet Area :

Carpet area is the least inclusive. It will tell you exactly how much of space you will have in your home. It is literally defined as the exact area within the walls of your home. To illustrate, if you had to lay out a wall-to-wall carpet, how much area would it require? That's carpet area.

Built-up Area :

Built-up area goes one step ahead and includes carpet area and the area being occupied by the walls of your home. Hence, the total area of your home including the area of the walls.

Super Built-up Area :

Super built-up area is what builders often talk about. It is inclusive of carpet and built-up area. It also includes all the area under common spaces - the apartment's proportionate share of the lobby, staircase, elevator and corridor outside the apartment.

The confusion arises over the fact that what is exactly included under this definition is left to the discretion of the builders. Some may even include the terrace, security room, electrical room or pump room.

The total area of these "extras" is taken into account and divided by the number of apartments in proportion to their size.

What you must be aware of :

Old buildings generally have a higher percentage of carpet area (around 80%) to total area as compared to new buildings, where it could be as low as 65% to 70%. So when you compare quotes, compare carpet area to carpet area, notcarpet area to super built-up area.

Speak the same language as your builder. There is no fixed ratio of super built-up to built-up or carpet area. The market practice is that the ratios are on the super built-up area and are marked down. That means, if the super built-up area is 100 and the carpet area 80, the latter is 80% of the super built-up area. Generally, the ratios in the market are 70:30 (super built-up to carpet). But, builders have been known to go as low as 60%. So a quote on a 3,000 sq ft apartment could mean a carpet area of anywhere from 1,800 sq ft to 2,400 sq ft.

Always ask the seller exactly how much the super built-up area and the carpet area amount to. And then ensure that this break-up appears in the Agreement of Sale.


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Home Loan - Be Careful While Balance Transfer

Home loan industry in India has come of ages. Consumer is King. And definitely, if you are the one with sound financial background and impeccable credit history you can strike a better deal with the banks in terms of interest rates and other payment conditions.

Interestingly, the same is applicable on those, as well, who have already availed a loan from a bank. Near about all the major public and private sector banks are now offering the option of 'Balance Transfer' on housing loans

What is Balance Transfer all about? 

There are times you find that the interest rate on your home purchase loan that you were paying at the rate of 10.5 per cent per annum was quite high in comparison of 9 per cent offered by some other bank.

In this case you can trigger off the balance transfer option with your existing bank, under which the unpaid portion of your home loan would get transferred to your desired bank, thereby taking benefit of the difference in the interest rates.

Things to take care of:

Tenure of loan:  Ideally, you should consider taking the balance transfer option when the remaining part of your payment period is more than 5-years. 

There is no point in transferring the home loan from one bank to another if you end up paying pre-payment and other processing charges even more than the difference of amount you had to pay towards interest in the normal course. 

Pre Payment Charges: Banks like SBI, IDBI and ICICI offer benefits like payment of the pre-payment charges to your existing bank. So you must confirm the same with the new bank that are they ready to deal with this matter or not.

Additions in the loan amount: You must confirm that the amount of your home purchase loan is perfectly in line with the balance you had in your previous bank. It may happen that your new bank pays all pre-payment and processing charges on your behalf and add the amount later to the principal amount of your housing loan.

In such case, you have to suffer the impact of compounding, which does not favor you in the long run.

Final Word:

Seeking balance transfer option needs the similar degree of caution and study that you undertake while taking home loan. And of course, you can save a considerable amount of interest charges under this option once you strike the right chord!

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Vastu Shastra - Directions matters Big....

Today I have not much to write down.

Today's topic is Vastu Shastra. In Vastu Shastra "Directions" matters big.Which part of your house is good for which thing and bad for which thing, this makes your house good or bad for you.

To make your home good, to fulfill it with health and wealth, this is better that when you constructed it, you followed the Vastu Shastra Rules for Directions.

Here I have two pictures which tells that which thing should be in which part of your home in which direction and which thing should not be there.

To view an enlarge view please click on the picture....

Hope this will be helpful for you my friends.

thanks

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Home Improvement Loan

Make your old home into a new one with Home improvement loan :-


While it is common knowledge that banks lend money to buy a home, few are aware of their home improvement loan products.


People can approach a bank and seek a loan towards the home improvement project. What is home improvement? Home improvement includes tasks that enhances comfort of your property, beautifies and upgrades your property, and takes care of maintenance and repairs.


Some typical home improvement works : 

Water-proofing and sound-proofing Reworking on plumbing and electrical systems Wood work Painting Flooring Upgrading the kitchen and bathroom fixtures Repairs to foundation, drainage Masonry and concrete works Garden and lawn improvement Addition of swimming pool, sit-out, fencing Installing fire and electrical safety features Converting unused areas like attics into usable living space 

Home improvement is also called renovation or remodeling. Most lenders finance up to 85 percent of the cost of renovation, depending on the market value of the property. If you are an existing customer then some banks may lend the entire 100 percent of the renovation cost. Borrowers can use this money for internal and external repairs, and other structural improvements including painting, waterproofing, plumbing and electric works. 

Land purchase loan : 

This can be explored if you are keen on investing in a piece of land. Some people may want to construct a house on it while others may prefer to keep it as an investment. Land purchase loan is a convenient loan facility that helps you purchase land with financing of up to 85 percent of the cost of land. The maximum timeframe for loan repayment is usually 15 years. 

Home loans are the most popular products with homebuyers. As much as 85 percent of the cost of buying a house is given by the bank while the remaining money has to be brought in by the applicant as margin money. You can avail a home loan to purchase a new or resale property, construct your own house. 

Home extension loan : 

This is meant to be used for the extension of an existing dwelling unit by the borrower. You can opt for a home extension loan when you want to increase the space in your house.


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Moduler Kitchen - How to choose Accessories

You've repainted the kitchen, installed some tile for a backsplash, and even installed a new floor. But something is missing from your kitchen decor. You look around, and realize that none of the accessories match. Your kitchen needs matching accessories to look right, just like a new outfit. Try adding some matching accessories to your kitchen, and notice how it improves the appearance.

The first thing you should do, is to decide what theme or colors you need. Do you want a country cottage style decor? A rustic Tuscan look? Or a sleek modern look? Depending on the theme, you'll need different accessories.

Take a look through some kitchen decor magazines if you can't decide what you want. The internet is another good source for inspiration. Just browse around, and get an idea of what you would like in your kitchen. Once you've decided, then you can go to your local kitchen or home improvement store, to get what you need. The color choice should compliment the main color of your kitchen.

Sometimes, you may not even need to buy anything. Sometimes, just re-arranging what you have can create a new look for your kitchen. Look for groupings of odd numbers, rather than even. Vary the height and texture of accessories. Move things around until you get the look that you want.

Wall art, decorative baskets, plates, and trays can really add to the appearance. Just be sure that you know how to properly hang art pieces on the wall. In general, wall art should be hung, so that the center of the piece is at eye level. It should also be no more than seven to ten inches above the table. Try placing wall art in groups on the wall. Placing pieces in a rectangle, triangle, or circle helps to add more interest.

Shelves, and bakers racks often look too cluttered. Vary the heights of your cookbooks, but avoid putting small cookbooks next to large cookbooks. Often, you can make the books look more appealing by removing the dustcovers. Organize the shelves, and decorate them with pictures, baskets, candles, and other small decorative items. Be sure to place them in groups of odd numbers. Clusters of 1, 3, or 5 items looks more natural than an even number. If there's room, place some plants on the shelves and in the corners to add some color and texture.

Hang copper pans from a wire rack to add warmth and color to your kitchen. While you're hanging things from the ceiling, add a plant or two to a bare corner of the ceiling, to give your kitchen a lived in feeling. You can grow herbs in decorative containers on the windowsill, to add some interest, and provide you with fresh herbs for cooking. Colorful bottles placed on the windowsill can also add a splash of color and interest to your kitchen. Canisters and cooking utensils can add life to your countertops.

You don't have to spend a lot of money to accessorize your kitchen. You can buy one or two items at a time, and add them to the counter or shelves, and then buy more as you can afford it. You can find some good deals for kitchen decor items at garage sales and flea markets. Take your time, and look around. Find the right accessories for your kitchen, and just be creative. After all, it's your kitchen.


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Interior Design - Office Decoration

You can give your office a look different from everybody by the use of light. It can give the office a unique look if used perfectly. The use of incandescent bulbs which gives dazzling light is backdated in these days. The foot-candles are mostly used today which gives light to a certain amount of place, say one square feet or something. When you are decorating an office you have to use at least 100 foot- candles.

It is generally seen that you want to decorate your office only on certain occasions or on the holidays. But there are mini lights available in the market which are not dazzling at all but that suit the occasions. These lights only illuminate the place to the extent that is needed in an office.

The mini lights are used mostly in the base of the steps. Then you can use it on the doorway or around the room. These are also very useful in decorating the outer border of the desks.

If you want to give some freshness to your office, you can keep some small plants in the office. You can also keep some artificial plants which will give the feeling of staying in the lap of nature.Artificial plants can be decorated with mini lights.


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