P K Arun

Hi, I’m P K Arun the guy behind this blog. Our family constructed a house in Bangalore and I thought to share our house construction experience with this blog so users can avoid those common mistakes they do while constructing their house. Read Our Story

A player and our Solar Tube… A point you need to keep in mind

by

I have a good and bad opinion about installing solar water heaters in the home for various reasons.

My personal preference is to go with solar panels. However, due to its low popularity, users are going with solar water heaters.

I didn’t install a solar water heater in our second building because of some lessons that I learned in our first building.

Today, I’m sharing one more incident that happened a few days back in my home.

While playing football on our terrace, a student accidentally damaged one solar tube.

This is not the first time our solar tube has been damaged.

This is the 3rd tube which got damaged.

Once, while doing tube servicing time

Second, due to heavy wind, the plywood we kept next to the solar panel fell on the tube and got damaged.

And third now.

We were using Supreme Solar. Whatever the model we are using is not available in the market now.

We need to wait a few days. We need to pay whatever the cost demanded by the seller because it’s a rare stock that is difficult to get.

If we don’t get the same model solar tube, then we won’t be able to use the solar water heater itself.

Somehow, every time damage happened, I still got a tube from the official service guy within a few days. But they are demanding a little more each time I order.

Solar tubes are very delicate items. It easily gets damaged. Even service engineers damage while they trying to clean.

It happened to us.

If you plan to install a solar water heater, keep this availability of solar tube point of view as well.

If you still choose a solar water heater for your house, you must know a few things during construction.

I shared all those things inside my building contractor guide with photos. Read those tips before or during construction time to avoid alternative options.

No. Most contractors don’t guide you such things.

Oh.. did you imagine what could have happned if we didn’t have CCTV on terrace?

my boss’s home theatre system

by

When I was working long back in a company, my cool & young boss invited all the employees to their housewarming function.

I also visited that time.

It’s a luxurious house.

Their house had a dedicated home theatre room. They also had a thread mill setup in that room so they could watch while walking on the thread mill.

At that time, no such popular OTT apps were available. It’s only YouTube, which they can watch.

When I and my colleagues saw the setup, we thought, who will have time to watch this and all…

Now I understood why they did that.

It’s entertainment at home without wasting time and energy by going to the theatre.

They have good reason to spend time in that home theatre by now.

Now, tech has improved significantly, and many new OTT apps are on the market.

Unlimited Internet at good speed is also available on the market.

This means that any new movies that get released, they can sit in their home and watch & enjoy with the whole family.

Now, you might also think similar to what I was thinking at that time. If you think like that, it’s just a matter of time before you change your opinion.

Now, I have changed mine after going through these personally. You might already, or you will one day.

My point in writing this email is that if you have a budget, have a separate room for the home theatre.

If you plan to do that later… then have a floor or room for it. You can set it up later when you have a budget.

If you don’t have space, budget, or provision, you can plan your hall with a bigger 4K TV and sound system to enjoy the theatre experience.

And a good network to set up to watch 4K movies without any buffering.

Currently, we have to use the last option at home. Still, we enjoy it a lot weekly, once or twice. Watching the latest movies sitting right in our first house hall…

When building your home, choose the option that best suits you.

These days, my dad spends more time alone watching all pending Kannada movies when our kids won’t be there. For this reason, my mom gets angry about watching movies without her 🙂

Anyway, If you have any questions, feel free to reply.

That’s all I wanted to share.

An idea to think about…

by

The day before yesterday, I talked about a movie I watched…

Today’s email is about the same topic. Which is related to a movie but in a different way.

If you regularly read my emails, you might notice some changes we made at home, which helped us.

Recently, we disconnected the DTH connection, and now we completely rely on the Internet, YouTube, and OTT apps for entertainment in my home.

It would be a good move if you could ask me.

No more time wasted on watching useless ads and getting updated entertainment at our fingertips.

However, not all can implement this in their home because you need a good broadband (internet) connection with unlimited data and a proper network plan to enjoy 4K videos without buffering.

If you don’t have those, you cannot enjoy them properly.

If you are a light internet user, then no issues.

If you are a heavy consumer, OTT will not help with the fake unlimited data with what other major service providers are offering.

To my knowledge, Excitel is the only major internet provider offering a truly unlimited plan.

If you have Excitel near your house, upgrade your TV to 4K and the latest version to truly enjoy entertainment at your house.

I don’t tell this easily.

Regarding entertainment, you might seen a trend of having a separate home theater.

If you will build only an owner-stay house and have a budget to build one extra floor/room for the home theater, do it.

See… till now, I never saw any value in those home theater.

Now, after seeing some changes in my home after upgrading the old TV to a new 4K TV, Old DTH to OTT Apps, and a good Home theater for a better sound system. It’s truly a different entertainment.

It’s never happened before.

I used to watch 1 or 2 movies a year on my PC. Now I watch 1 movie a week with all my family members.

Oh.. you might count time waste.

Ya, that’s right. But the feeling and energy after spending time with the whole family is worth spending 3 hrs watching a movie at home.

We don’t have a dedicated home theater room in our house. We cannot do that. Because it requires some good space & a good budget.

Everything we watch and enjoy is in the Hall itself.

Suppose you are building some luxury home, duplex, or triplex. In that case, you can consider having a separate floor or room for a home theater.

Most owners will be on a tight budget during construction time; if that’s your case, just build the extra floor or room and don’t bother doing any false ceiling or home theater setup during construction.

Don’t keep windows on the home theater floor/room; it isn’t required. Having windows actually costs more than without windows.

Once you are comfortable with the budget, hire professionals who take care of all those.

A quick search for home theater services on Google Maps will get a list of popular service providers in your area.

I will share my first reaction to seeing a home theater system tomorrow.

I still laugh at how I changed my view once I experienced myself in my home.

Arun

A good family entertainment

by

I’m writing this email after watching a Tamil movie in Kannada language on Amazon Prime Video.

An OTT app which I recently subscribed to watch movies…

After subscribing, every week, all our family members sit in our first building hall and watch movies together.

Sitting with all family members and spending time together is a really good feeling.

Earlier, it was not like that.

It’s just parents who used to watch regular dish TV channels and movies, which are always filled with plenty of Ads.

Now, with OTT apps, it’s way better experience.

You can enjoy new movies with little or no ads with family…

Isn’t it a good feeling?

It is for me.

That’s why we are all spending time together now. If it’s not OTT apps, we will be minding our own business in front of a computer 24*7.

It’s a boring life. Life is meant to be enjoyed… not just work always.

Oh, we don’t watch movies quite…, as my younger brother and my kids will always be disturbing. We still somehow manage and watch in that disturbance as well by keeping a little high volume.

Apart from that good disturbance, we thoroughly enjoy movies.

Luckily, in our house, we don’t manage a few of our day-to-day tasks, which we need to manage ourselves.

For example, Outdoor lights? It works in Auto mode. We no longer spend time to manage it.

Sump taps? It also works in Auto mode. Our auto unit inside the sump stops water when the sump is full. If your tap is a little below the sump, I have a solution to fix the float value issue as well.

Overhead tank? That also runs with a motor controller unit. Anytime our overhead tanks get empty, it does the job.

If you think you need to spend lots of money to do all this automation… then you are wrong.

All the above automation setups can be done for 1000 to 3000 rs if you plan well during construction time.

If not planned, then it’s a different story.

I shared all such preliminary setups that you need to take care of during house construction time inside my guides. And I recommend that everyone implement those suggestions to make their lives easier.

For security 24*7? Our CC cam takes care of everything in the building.

If students need to brun crakers on Terrace, they will first ask me before they do so. Because they know I can see all those activities.

There is nothing they can hide outside their unit.

All are covered under surveillance cameras. If you ask me, it is one of the most worthy investments for any house.

This email is written right after watching a movie. This means it was written yesterday, unlike any of my emails, which I usually write on the same day. Because I was in a good mood to write so.

That’s all for today’s email.

Tomorrow, I will share some different thoughts I got an idea from today.

Till then, take care.

Arun

A Buyer Asking Agreement for Trunkey Construction Project

by

Today, I got the below email from a Building Labour Contract Agreement Template Buyer.

—
Dear Sir,

We are providing total design and built turnkey construction project with material.

Please share agreement between cliennt and contractors with terms an conditions.

Regards
Imran

—

I got a few such requests.

I don’t have any such agreement prepared for a material contract or turnkey construction project.

At least, Not at the moment.

It is because “it’s really difficult to properly create a detailed agreement in such projects”.

No matter how good you are, your chances of missing a few specifications will always be high.

If those things are not mentioned in writing, what will happen?

The difference between owners and contractors will start.

That’s why most material contract projects have some kind of disputes.

And…

Honestly, I don’t want to be a part of such disputes. That’s why I simply say NO.

Some readers are interested in going with material contracts for their house construction.

If that’s your plan, I have a small tip for you.

When choosing a material contractor, ask the contractor to show any recently completed material contract projects and discuss with such owners before finalizing the contractor.

The project should be completed. Not work in process projects. Because most disputes happen at the end of the construction stage. Not during the construction stage.

You can read one of our relative’s stories who went with a material contract for their building recently here.

If you still have no choice, take your engineer’s help to verify the contract agreement terms and conditions.

Arun

If you are buying my products from ads, read this

by

Yesterday, a buyer emailed me to ask about the product he paid for but has not yet received.

I searched his email in my email system to see what product he had purchased.

I noticed 3 products he bought, and he is also on my email list for quite a few days.

I believe this user is buying only from some offers that I make on running ads on Facebook.

I don’t know who else is doing similar things. It’s pretty difficult to go and check all those details.

If you are also doing the same, understand the logic of offering discounts on Facebook ads and not here.

I’m offering a good ad deal because I need to attract customers who will likely buy my future products.

Ads are costly to run. We don’t make money on ads. It’s just a tool to attract the right customer with product buyer’s funds. Not from our pocket money. That’s all.

That means I only run ads for selected products, not all.

If you properly calculate the cost you are paying for a single product is still more than the price you could get from my All-Access Pass.

Do some calculations you will understand.

Moreover, I only run ads for a few products, not all.

So, if you repeatedly buy my products, the best way is to buy my All-Access Pass. Not buying through ads. As you never see ads for all my products,

With my All-Access Pass, you can always get any updates or future guides at no extra cost.

All you need to do is log in to the member’s area to find the latest or updated guide.

Anyway, I just wanted to share this with you to make you a better-informed buyer.

I don’t want to play such games with my email subscribers. I could make quick cash by doing that… but it definitely not gonna help my buyers much.

I want my subscribers to buy my All-Access Pass (who can offered, If not also no issues). This is where they get all the common mistakes they could make and how to avoid them during construction time.

Which could help them for the lifespan of the building.

Anyway, The next guide I’m working on is for users planning to build rental property in their building.

I will share all the lessons I learned in this guide after having 16+ door rental units. You can learn and implement the suggestions I shared in your property to avoid mistakes.

It will also be added inside the All-Access Pass members area at no extra cost.

Arun

How to Spend More and Make Building Look Old

by

We went to ask about cot pricing for our rental unit a few days back. I noticed a construction building…

The building installed a Granite Wall Cladding all over it.

Do you know how it looks? BORING. Like an old building look.

Granite is good for flooring work, not for wall cladding work. It won’t look good.

I recommend using 2 by 4 Double glazing Tiles for wall cladding for a premium look.

Still in confusion?

Watch any YouTube videos where sale buildings or interior work is done.

They all use Tiles.

In our first house, we also did granite wall cladding, thinking more expensive == more premium looks.

It won’t work like that.

Granite wall cladding costs more than tiles. But look-wise, nothing beats Tiles.

Don’t keep thinking spending more makes your building look more beautiful.

Nope. Not always.

I still see many new buildings with granite wall cladding, which most older generation prefers.

Don’t make the same mistakes as others do.

Think and make decisions.

Granite is a good choice for maintenance-free flooring.

Suppose you want to use granite flooring and want to know the granite pricing and labour charges we paid. In that case, I have shared all those details inside my Our House Construction Expenses product.

Sometimes, it helps to know the price on average to better negotiate with the sellers.

Arun

Help to check the strength of a building

by

For my email yesterday, I got the below reply from a subscriber:

Hi.

Can you suggest someone who can help to check or strengthen a house building?

We have purchased a old
Building & added a heavy floor on top. Structural and architects were involved though.

The house has load bearing walls.

Regards,
Vixxx Hxxxx

Can you suggest someone who can help to check or strengthen a house building?

I don’t have any such contacts apart from my building structural engineer.

Moreover, even if I give our engineer contact details, It would cost you more for him to visit your location for a consultation.

Instead, I recommend you search for a structural engineer near the building and do a consultation.

We have purchased a old Building & added a heavy floor on top. Structural and architects were involved though.

It looks like you have already involved a structural engineer. I hope they did bother checking old building plans and verified pillars (or) added additional pillars before giving yes to construct.

If not. Why not search on Google Maps so you can pick an engineer near your building to do a consultation, which could help.

If you just built one floor on top of an old building, it may not add much stress. But you are also mentioning “Heavy Floor,” something I wouldn’t dare to DO or Think about doing on any sale building.

For sale buildings or any existing building, they never construct a building while keeping future floors in mind.

The reason? It would significantly increase the building construction cost.

Why would anyone invest now when they don’t have a clear picture of their building?

No one would.

Anything invested in foundation work doesn’t add any value while selling time. Instead, they could invest the same in their interior, which significantly increasing the building’s value.

That’s why all sales buildings come with good interiors. Not with extra addable floors feature.

Anyway… I highly recommend getting in touch with some or a few structural engineers and consulting once.

Ask any building contractors, labourers, or engineers how well-sale buildings are built. They will give a clear picture of it.

If you are building a house using the labour contract method, check my guides, which will help avoid a few first-time user mistakes.

Arun

A building collapsed in Bangalore

by

I hope you have already come across the building collapse news in Bangalore today.

After seeing the building falling clip and images, I noticed it’s mostly foundation and pillars fault.

If you properly notice the pillars on that building, only a few can be seen there. And the pillars size? Too small for a G+3+2 building.

Who is to blame?

Engineer or Owner or Contractor?

In this case, it seems the owner is at fault.

I don’t think any engineer would give such a low-quality plan for a G+5-floor building.

After reviewing the news, I noticed one contractor built G+3 floors. And nobody shared who built the remaining 2 floors.

Maybe the contractor also got scared while building itself and left the work partially?

It happens.

Contractors also don’t show interest in building sub-par quality buildings. If something goes wrong, they are also held responsible…

Or the contractor might had a dispute with the owner and left the project without finishing?

Whatever may be the reason.

When you are planning to construct, clearly share how many floors you need to build so engineers can properly calculate load and design plans accordingly.

If you want to build 1 floor now and a few floors later, share the same with engineers.

They plan for all the floors and provide the plan.

I got a few user queries about users who bought a sale building and now planning to extend one or two floors.

I straightly tell them, don’t bother doing that.

If you still want to do it, then consult the engineer. They will add a few pillars before raising the floors.

Because of such low-quality construction, all the users involved in that property will now suffer.

Whatever the project you handle, don’t mindlessly build cheap quality buildings. This statement applies to Owners, Engineers & Contractors as well.

Lots of users suffer because of this.

Don’t get involved in such projects if you don’t have control.

Arun

Real life Rain lesson that I learned from Yesterday rain…

by

Today at 10 Am, I came to my home office to start work.

I noticed something.

I called my Dad to discuss about it. We both went and verified the root cause of that issue.

Later, we learned that it had happened due to yesterday’s rain.

We went back to the first house to have breakfast. While my dad and I were discussing about the issue, my mom also listened to our conversation about the rain problem that we noticed recently.

She also shared something similar she noticed in one of our neighbour’s houses a few days back (as it’s raining now).

I updated my Rainy Days guide after noticing our and our neighbour’s issues.

If you have access, please download the latest version to learn from my and our neighbour’s mistakes.

I added images to explain the concept that happened in our house.

Regarding our neighbour’s mistake, I just shared a guide to avoid that mistake so you can be careful during your house construction.

The updated sections are in 2.7, Example 2, and 2.9 in the Rainy Days Guide.

No matter who you hire for your house construction work, it’s your responsibility to properly take care during house construction time.

Or else you are the one who pays the price later.

That’s why I’m sharing all my lessons inside my guides so smart people who invested in my guides can learn and avoid making my mistakes in their building.

Whatever problem we noticed in our building is mostly fixable… but in our neighbour’s case, it costs a lot to fix permanently. That’s why they do manual work every time it rains to prevent further damage to the building.