A WEBLOG ENCOMPASSING A COMMON MAN'S CIVIL ENGINEERING RELATED QUERIES & DOUBTS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Home maintenance | Construction | Architecture | Renovation | Beautification | Products & Materials | Interiors | Valuation | Guidance | Misc. Services | Social Awareness | Advice & Tips | and a lot more...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[ADV.: Sponsored space] ^ - Contact us for placing your Advertisement here ^

[Readers' Q&A]: How do I calculate the net carpet area of the flat at actual site?

Wednesday, September 29, 2010 ||| POST TAGS ==> , ,
||| FEEDBACK ==> 0 ||| LEAVE YOUR COMMENT »

| | | | |

One of our readers, Aziz, asks via comments section to our previous post: "Super built-up area is how many times the total floor area in percentage?"

How do I calculate the net carpet area on the site of the flat so as to know how much actual space I will get when I eventually move in?
Do the sellers generally allow such measurement during or after booking?

Take measurements and write them down on floor layout

Team BnM replies:
Dear Aziz!

Foremost, we believe you are already aware of the difference between the super built up area, floor area and the carpet area. In case you are not yet, do go through the related article under the 'You Might Like" section of one of our previous posts mentioned above.

Frankly speaking, the builders, realtors, property developers, etc. keep camouflaging the actual carpet area figures for obvious reasons as if the potential buyers calculate the ratio of purchase price to carpet area, it would be substantially more than what the sellers are usually marketing and advertising.

The usual practice of telling the selling rate in terms of selling price in money per square feet super area is unfortunately not governed by a single thumb rule and/or government law. It is after all a potential buyer's own judgment and analysis that might help in the end.

Follow these basic key steps to know the total actual carpet area of the shortlisted flat/ apartment/ villa/ duplex, whichever you are about to decide on purchasing for yourself:

  • Always carry along a measuring tape, a handy notebook, pen, calculator, etc whenever you plan to visit a shortlisted property.

  • Insist the seller to grant you permission for taking the measurements, which in fact, is your right in all sense.

  • Make a rough floor plan of the dwelling so that you can fill-in the dimensions according to the orientation and layout of rooms, corridors, lobbies, verandahs (balconies), toilets, kitchen and other miscellaneous areas. A good idea, otherwise, would be to take the floor layout handout/ brochure from the seller of the property in which entire layout of the property is usually already marked (but which is without actual internal dimensions for obvious reasons from builders' perspective, you may understand well!)

  • Start taking internal wall face to wall face measurements in meters or feet & inches, and write them down in respective rooms and areas on the floor plan. A small tip here... Take help of an accomplice in holding the measurement tape at the other end as taking measurements alone would be a daunting task.

  • Remember one thing.. since the dimensions are required of all internal rooms, areas and spaces besides the well chalked out rooms too, it would be wiser to divide the open spaces into trigonometric shapes and write in the respective measurements.

  • ONE MORE IMPORTANT TIP.. the measurements are to be taken of internal units only, that is, within the outer periphery of the housing unit. Other common areas are thereafter factored and added to the basic Carpet area/ Floor area, which is then termed as the 'Super built-up area'.

  • After jotting down all the inside to inside (room wall face to wall face) measurements, its now time to do some simple calculations so as to know the actual Carpet Area. Use your arithmetic skills to calculate unit areas of the rooms and spaces, and finally add all of them.

  • The final addition of smaller areas would sum up to the TOTAL ACTUALLY USABLE AREA OF THE HOUSE, also termed as the ACTUALLY USABLE CARPET AREA OF THE HOUSE.
The total selling price of the dwelling divided by the total carpet area would give you an indication of the factor equaling 'money per square feet actual carpet area'.

On the other hand, the figure/ factor that the builders, realtors, property developers, etc. tell you usually is 'money per square feet of the super built-up area'. And, obviously, the later factor is always a lesser value than the former value since the money in the numerator remains a constant factor, while the figure against the super built-up area is higher in the denominator than the actual usable carpet area.

Thats why, you will henceforth understand why the
builders, realtors, property developers, etc. always talk in terms of the super built-up area, and not in terms of the actually usable carpet area.

Share, send, forward, talk/ blog about the information presented in this post to your friends, relatives, colleagues and associates. The more the people are informed, the lesser the chances that they can be duped by the
builders, realtors & property developers :-)

|| FEEDBACK ==> 0 ||| LEAVE YOUR COMMENT »

CWG 2010 - Govt. advertisement highlighting Sporting Stadii & other info

Monday, September 27, 2010 ||| POST TAGS ==> , ,
||| FEEDBACK ==> 0 ||| LEAVE YOUR COMMENT »

| | | | |

This advertisement published by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports of India in almost all national and major regional newspapers today (27/Sep/2010) brings about the highlights of the Sporting Stadii on offer for hosting the Common Wealth Games 2010 (CWG 2010) in New Delhi, India from 3rd October 2010 to 14th October 2010.

The list of highlights summing up the ad campaign start with the point:
"All venues are world class" followed by the discretely camouflaged yet defensive statement that "All venues been handed over to the Olympic Committee on 1st August 2010"

CWG 2010 Advertisement
Though the claims propagated by self-blown-trumpet are quite ostensible, only time can tell if these claims stand the test of time or not, and whether did they actually mean anything towards success or failure of the CWG 2010 or not.

All in all, still believing in the spirit of optimism and hope for the better end result, team bricks-n-mortar wishes-- all the participating sports personnel, their parent countries, event organizing and promoting authorities, hosting city and the great nation of India-- the very best of luck.

May our optimism prove to be true and the Common Wealth Games 2010 be a grand success over all making New Delhi & India proud hosting destination now and forever. May the real spirit of organizing this sporting extravaganza live up to its real purpose of uniting people and countries for brotherhood and friendliness.

|| FEEDBACK ==> 0 ||| LEAVE YOUR COMMENT »

Reg. All About Ads' reported Shriram Cement's ill-taste advertisements

Monday, September 13, 2010 ||| POST TAGS ==> , ,
||| FEEDBACK ==> 0 ||| LEAVE YOUR COMMENT »

| | | | |

The recent advertisements of one of India's cement manufacturers, Shriram Cement, is drawing flak from scores of netizens, especially the professionals linked to advertising, copywriting and creative media.

NDTV's one of popular programmes and online social media entity- 'All About Ads' has highlighted three of such advertisement stills on its Facebook page.

The three advertisements in question are shown showing three of international historic (relatively older-world) constructed monuments/ structures with Shriram Cement's logo in the bottom right hand side and a misspelled (deliberate or bad-copywriting-resulted, who knows?!!) tag line 'Unfotunately since 1987' near parts of the monuments/ structures that are damaged and/or broken with lapse of time over the years.

There have been umpteen of comments and negative feedback on the matter on All About Ads' facebook page damning the people behind the Ad.

To sum it up, the fact and irony of the matter is that the said advertisements are really in bad taste and the promoters (DCM Shriram Consolidated Ltd., makers of Fenesta Building Systems too), even if find negative publicity as some good publicity for its cement branding, should immediately roll back the campaign and if possible never repeat such disgusting bad taste publicity gimmicks (if they were actually designed so!).

|| FEEDBACK ==> 0 ||| LEAVE YOUR COMMENT »

10 most viewed posts of bricks-n-mortar (dot) com in past 4 months

Thursday, September 09, 2010 ||| POST TAGS ==>
||| FEEDBACK ==> 0 ||| LEAVE YOUR COMMENT »

| | | | |

Google Analytics and Google Stats have recently been clubbed with the blogger platform, which we use as the base for our blog.

A quick check today on the tab listed the 10 most viewed posts of bricks-n-mortar (dot) com in recent past, i.e., 4 months, viz., May 2010 to beginning of September 2010. [note: stats show the start time as May 2010 when Google integrated and clubber in and made the service available at blogger]

Sharing the snapshot and the info with our readers.
Being inquisitive about this quick search, let us ask you...  what in your opinion you think would have made these posts most viewed? By the way, have you read them all?

Google stats - BnM - (May to 08Sep 2010)
10 most viewed posts of bricks-n-mortar (dot) com in past 4 months












1,083 Pageviews











889 Pageviews










632 Pageviews










609 Pageviews










399 Pageviews










315 Pageviews










240 Pageviews










196 Pageviews










188 Pageviews

161 Pageviews







|| FEEDBACK ==> 0 ||| LEAVE YOUR COMMENT »

[Utilities-n-Softwares]: Google SketchUp 8 launched

Wednesday, September 08, 2010 ||| POST TAGS ==>
||| FEEDBACK ==> 0 ||| LEAVE YOUR COMMENT »

| | | | |

Google SketchUp: The Missing ManualBeginning of this September, Google launched its version #8 of its very popular 2D / 3D modeling and designing software tool -- the GOOGLE SKETCHUP 8

Several much awaited features have been added in this newer version of Google SketchUp 8, which include:

  • Modeling geo-locations with Google Maps wherein color imageries can now be geo-tagged with one's created models and terrains
  • The other very interesting update is the 'improved match selection of the created sketches with that of one's uploaded photographs.. be it one's house, office, or any other building or city layout. Models can easily and creatively build after uploading the desired photograph.
  • Several more features are added that are available to Google SketchUp 8 pro subscribers. These features would surely be of interest to people already using SketchUp and wanted more high-end tools to tweak and model their sketches.

All in all, this Google SketchUp software tool and its current update is a must-have for all geeks who love to design, model, sketch, create features, and what not!

One can download Google SketchUp 8 and start using the lighter 'free' version right away. Others, more enthusiasts and professional engineers, architects, designers, creative artists, etc. can go for SketchUp8 pro version.

NEW GOOGLE SKETCHUP KEYBOARD STICKER FOR DESKTOP, LAPTOP AND NOTEBOOKRelated earlier posts on BnM: 

|| FEEDBACK ==> 0 ||| LEAVE YOUR COMMENT »

[Tips-n-Bits]: Common dos & don'ts for wash basins and their holding slabs - [Part-1/2]

Wednesday, September 01, 2010 ||| POST TAGS ==> , ,
||| FEEDBACK ==> 1 ||| LEAVE YOUR COMMENT »

| | | | |

Apart from being a must-have for offices, restaurants and commercial places alike, wash basins form an essential part of any household now.


These wash basins are usually held & rested over a pair of angle iron steel rods that were usually embedded into the masonry wall behind in case of majority of the common household bathrooms/ hands-wash areas.

But, considering the modern concept followed in most of the look and features conscious urban households, the wash basins are now provided attached to a stone/ marble/ granite/ concrete slabs of multitude of architectural shapes and sizes. Such concept of fixing the wash basins along with holding slabs was in place for quite a time in case of offices, institutions and commercial utilities, which provided an elegant look and feel to the washing space besides providing a horizontal area to hold the belongings of the people using the wash area.

But, have you ever paid attention to the slab holding the wash basin in bathroom of your home or your office or any other commercial place like hotels, restaurants, cineplexes, commercial centres, etc.? If you may, just recollect how many of the places had a neat and clean wash area?

The result of the internal poll we had on one of our e-forums a few days back indicated that most of the people providing feedback reported the wash basins over slabs didn't provide a good feel, some reasons for
which being:

  • unwanted gaps are visible between the wash basin and the slab look very ugly
  • these gaps are usually filled up with white cement to match the two surfaces, which over the time, transforms to dirty yellowish/ brownish colour thus imparting a bad feel and visual to the users
Bad looking cement filler as a patch-up for ill-designed wash basin slab

So as to avoid such dis-pleasures, some simple steps can be adopted, which we shall bring about in our next post. 

Check back in here a day or two to know about these basic steps.


Post title: [Tips-n-Bits]: Common dos & don'ts for wash basins and their holding slabs - [Part-1/2]

|| FEEDBACK ==> 1 ||| LEAVE YOUR COMMENT »
Related Posts with Thumbnails

Find our blog posted pics on Facebook

Buzz us @ Facebook/ Yahoo/ AOL/ Hotmail