One of BRICKS-n-MORTAR's regular readers, Mr. B. Kumar asks via 'contact us' form...

"My mason soaks the bricks in water before placing them.  Why?  Is it right to do so?  Please tell a.s.a.p."

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Team BnM answers...

Image source: brickmasonry.info

Dear Mr. Kumar, the answer to your query is a big 'YES'.

Your mason is doing the absolutely right thing what he is supposed to do. Besides, consider yourself lucky that you've hired a knowledgeable mason since the fact remains that majority of the workmen do not adhere to this quality requirement for the simple reason that this practice, though very much required for attaining quality work, is time & efforts consuming exercise on its own. And, therefore, most of the masons hesitate to carry out this important and much needed exercise of soaking the burnt clay bricks before laying them for construction works.

Now, let us explain a bit as what is the significance of this procedure..

Red bricks, as what commonly these are called, are blocks of a mix of clay and other suitable constituents like silica, alumina, etc. that are wet-moulded, sun-dried and fire-burnt in desired shapes and sizes. The dried bricks become leather-hard and slightly porous in nature.

If these dry bricks are laid in construction of walls or other masonry works without soaking in water, they absorb the moisture from the cement mortar that is used to bind the brick courses. This ultimately may results in hollow & weak mortar joints that are not very strong in bond.

On the other hand, as a good quality practice, the burnt clay bricks should be soaked in water for adequate period so that the water penetrates to its full thickness and quench the un-slaked (un-reacted) chemical constituents /voids of the bricks to full extent.

Normally, about 2 to 6 hours of soaking of bricks in a tank full of potable water is suggested. Otherwise, in case of paucity of time, a minimum period of one hour prior to bricks being laid must be adhered to. Equally important is the fact that the soaked bricks should be removed from the water tank sufficiently in advance so that they are skin dry at the time of actual laying. Such soaked bricks are to be stacked on a clean place where they are not contaminated with dirt, earth, etc.

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Blog Post Title: [Q&A]: Brick Masonry work | "Why bricks be soaked in water before placing them?"

Related stuff of interest : 
              

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Happened to land on and surf an interesting tech blog- Digital Urban (through NetworkedBlogs application of facebook) that has some interesting stuff on architectural modeling, visualization, etc.

Sharing one of the posts from their blog that's quite interesting, and which entails a video that "uses stop motion video animation to physically manipulate aerial still images of the city (both real and fictional), creating a landscape in constant motion".

The blog mentions that the video been generated entirely from images printed on paper with animation put in to create a dynamic visual rendition to an urban plan.

(Click here to watch the video in case it doesn't load here automatically)

Metropolis by Rob Carter from Rob Carter on Vimeo.

Original post: Metropolis: City Animation made entirely from Images Printed on Paper

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The last time the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) announced its Property Tax Amnesty Scheme 2009-2010, they had fixed the last date of availing the scheme as 31st December 2009.

However, with the higher and higher number of people coming forward to avail the scheme, the MCD decided to extend the scheme until end of March 2010, i.e., 31st March 2010.

The scheme offers the immovable residential, commercial, leased property owners and users a one time amnesty scheme whereby the MCD property tax out-standings (if any) can be settled once for all in the record books of the municipal corporation of Delhi, with majority of the dues and penalties might being waived off, depending of course on case to case basis.

All those, who missed the chance to settle the property tax dues in the previous scheme announced by the MCD, may now avail this scheme until 31/03/2010.

Contact the concerned MCD area offices and settle the dues with absolutely nil or minimum penalties. Such schemes are not running forever.

So, better hurry up and settle your property tax out-standings thereby settling your tensions and worries of the taxmen knocking at your doors some fine day.

MCD PROPERTY TAX AMNESTY SCHEME 2009-10

Related earlier posts on BRICKS-n-MORTAR:

• MCD Property Tax | Filing MCD Property Tax Online | FAQs about MCD Property Tax
• MCD Property Tax Amnesty Scheme 2009-10 

Related links of use:  
http://www.mcdpropertytax.in  |  http://mcdonline.gov.in  
Ask us in case you also have any query relating to civil engineering, architecture, building design & construction, interiors, etc.
Subscribe to get more such tips-n-bits, posts and articles delivered directly to your mailbox. Alternatively, subscribe to our RSS Feeds if you desire to access the content of this blog over any feed-reader of your choice.

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Blog Post Title: MCD Property Tax | Hurry! MCD Property Tax Amnesty Scheme 2009-10 is ending on 31 March 2010!

Related stuff of interest:

Municipal property tax in India  |  Wealth tax, gift tax & estate duty laws in practice

               

Children, no doubt, garner the maximum attention in a household they being constantly in the focal point of their loving parents. The same principle holds good to their rooms and living spaces too, which requires special planning and detailing in terms of furnishing them up.

While planning to furnish and decorate one's children room, one's approach should be much different than what it generally would be for the rest of the home. This because, the child is going through that stage of the life when he/she is developing mentally and physically, and while the world is still a learning playground for him/her. The way they feel once inside their dreamy abodes for considerable parts of the day, means a lot in their personality development.

So, what all should the parents, architects, space designers and interior decorators must keep in their minds while planning the kids rooms?

BRICKS-n-MORTAR compiles below the 10 most valued, voted and noted criteria that must be remembered while designing interiors for children room. Take a look herein below and suggest if you have to augment the list with what you think.

1. PERSONALITY TRAITS : Know your child's personality traits and correlate his/her personality with your overall plan and sense of designing with respect to that of the entire home.
2. CHOICES & LIKINGS : Respect the child's likings and dis-likings. Every kid is different, and so is yours! Accordingly, his/her likings and dis-likings will also be different than his very own parents and siblings, let alone the rest of the world. List the observed points and if possible discuss them out with your wards.
   
3. AFFINITY TO COLORS, THEMES & PATTERNS : Think about which colors of the rainbow or the crayon box amazes your child's senses the most. Observe and ascertain the child's affinity to certain sets of colors, themes, patterns, etc. Is he/she extrovert and charged up thereby possibly liking the bright shades (red, dark brown, bright yellow, etc.) or a sober and introvert kid feeling more relaxed in lighter and soothing shades (sky blue, light brown, fawn, peach, etc.)
   
4. TALK & DISCUSS PLANS : Discuss your initial plans with your child before taking final decision on 'dressing up' your child's room. After all, whats the point if you happen to annoy them at a later stage when you actually want to surprise them with your very own individualistic choices and decisions? Thats why, its always prudent to share your plans and take the kids' opinion beforehand.
   
5. WHAT ABOUT GROWN UP KIDS? : In case of grown up children, allow them to select their favorite design theme from his/her imagination and/or the design books, websites or movies. Wiser people will mostly refrain from bullying their own ideas upon the teenagers. And, why not? Weren't you the same way when you were their age??
   
6. MULTI-FUNCTIONAL DESIGN CONCEPTS : Design your child's room with a viewpoint of making it a multi-functional room as the room shall not only be a place to sleep, but also to study, play, develop, and what not! Provided the overall space and expense budget permits, think of planning the room having a sofa-cum-bed to sleep and sit whatever the case be; a study-cum-computer table and comfortable chair to explore the world and be studious; ample storage space which can take care of your child's most of the utilities; and a few more things which you know best what your child would like to have!
   
7. VENTILATION & MOVEMENT SPACE : Natural light, sunlight and fresh air are those elements of the nature which bring freshness, health and happiness along with them. Plan the room in such a way that at least one ventilation opening (window, ventilator, etc.) is there in the room which breezes in fresh air and circulates positive energy vibes into the child's abode. A totally walled and closed room is perhaps a source of negative energy, and should be avoided as far as possible.
8. FURNISHINGS, MATERIAL, QUALITY : 'Men will be men'.. the cliche goes, and likewise children will always be children. No matter how sober your child is, there will be times when the furnishings will bear the brunt of their adventures, playful activities, and what not. Wisdom is to choose such material and furnishings that are easily washable and/or replaceable. The paint on the walls in all likelihood be washable emulsion type that could be rubbed of those ink stains or milk splashes.
9. SHARED SPACES FOR TWINS OR MORE : We have been discussing the things considering a one child one room concept as yet. What if the space will have to be shared by more than one child? Obviously, there's no easy answer to that. The parents must take more care into planning such spaces considering all the above points thinking of the individual and grouped personality traits. Sounds a tough nut to crack, isn't it? But, successful parents surely know the answer.. or at least the way forward to plan something good for their wards who are going to share the room.
10. TAKING CUES FROM ONE ANOTHER : Take heart in knowing and believing that no one in this world is perfect. Everyone learns from everyone, and the shared experiences are all the more rewarding, most of the parents say. So, voyage into reading more, sharing more and discussing more among your friend's circle, TV shows, internet guides, interior designers' blogs, etc. etc. etc. Enrich the experience and share with others too.

Do share with us your viewpoints and what other important points can be included in this list of 'things to remember while Designing Interiors for your Child's Room'.

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Article shared from 'AddThis' toolbar available in the online version of 'The Hindu', a leading national newspaper in India

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Quote..

When Zhao Yue Ting bid for the contract to build India’s pavilion at the Shanghai Expo, the Chinese engineer had little idea of what he was getting himself into.

The design, centred on an 18 metre-tall bamboo dome, confounded Chinese engineers. Bamboo, strangely enough, is rarely used in constructions in China — so much so that, Mr. Zhao says, there was no building code for him to follow.

“This design was very unusual for construction experts in China,” he says. “The engineers did not know how to proceed. Most of the workers had never worked with bamboo. And to top it all, the government was convinced it would not be safe.”

The design envisaged that the 35 metre-wide dome — it will be the world’s biggest bamboo structure — would be supported entirely by hundreds of 20 metre-long pieces of bamboo.

For three months, Mr. Zhao and his colleagues at the China Jingye Engineering Corporation, one of the country’s largest firms, worked to ease the worries of the Shanghai government, conducting a dozen safety checks and fire-resistance tests.

Simon Velez from Colombia, one of the world’s premier bamboo experts, was roped in. Engineers even built a full-scale sample model, following Indian building codes, to assure officials that the structure would be safe.

The expansive dome now stands completed, supported by an intricate network of more than 500 pieces of bamboo. The bamboo has been brought from Anji, in the Zhejiang province, China’s bamboo capital.

The design has so impressed Chinese officials and architects that Mr. Zhao’s company has now been commissioned to conduct a 6-million Yuan study on bamboo construction, and even come up with a building code for future constructions.

The company has received offers from within China to build similar structures.

The Shanghai government has announced that, after the Expo concludes in October, every country’s pavilion, save for China’s, will be dismantled so that the government can recoup some of its huge investment by selling what has now become prime real estate in Shanghai.

India’s dome will, however, be spared demolition. The local government in Wushi, Zhejiang, is so impressed with the buzz generated by the design that it has offered to dismantle the pavilion and reassemble it back in Wushi, piece by piece of bamboo.

..Unquote

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Original article at: The Hindu : News / International : Indian pavilion rewrites China’s architecture rulebook

Hi all!
Its been a while since the e-group " bricksNmortar " (earlier launching version of BRICKS-n-MORTAR) was started on Google Groups platform for a common cause of sharing knowledge and developing a ready to use data bank of useful information both for the professionals as well as some basic information to the common people who are interested in Civil Engineering related applications.

Though your blog BRICKS-n-MORTAR(dot)com is finding favors and rave reviews with umpteen of netizens including regular visitors and subscribers, this e-group has failed to scale similar heights for simple reasons being:

• ample time and efforts were not put in by us the way we worked out for the blog
  
• e-groups, in general, lost their charm and effectiveness over a period of time when the blogs took centre-stage
• not enough members contributing to the cause of the e-group
  

Now, the simplest option is to forgo the egroup and only concentrate on the blog. Alternatively, provided there are a few interested people who would like to become co-custodians of the group and take the purpose forward from here on, the group can be given a chance and new lease of life.

Accordingly, in anticipation of reviving this egroup and make it meaningful for the community, we invite like minded people groups to be a part and actively participate in realizing the goal of this group.
Feel free to mail us and suggest if you could breathe new life in the egroup.

Yours truly
team bricks-n-mortar