Lets understand one thing here. Just like cars, mobile phones, and humans, homes also are in need of periodic maintenance. You have to admit, today homes don’t come cheap these days. And the age of saying “stitch in time, saves nine” still holds good. 

In this article we want to touch upon certain aspects of maintenance.

Image Courtesy: istockphotos.com

We can classify the maintenance into two categories

- Fix the issue

- Replace problematic parts

First, being the home owner, you need to agree upon a frequency of check and execute this to perfection. It is just like having 2 to 3 services a year for your car.

The frequency can be less initially , say 2 times a year.

This has to/will increase for older homes. We think of 4 to 6 times a year.

But there is no formula as such. You are the best judge here.

Common areas which needs to be checked and maintained are:

• Bathroom fittings

These include but are not limited to faucets, flush mechanism, taps, WC, shower, drainage.  Regular issues which tend to occur are leakage, breaking, clogging, corrosion and more.

If one of the above issues is seen, it is best to change the device to avoid the problem getting more serious later on.

• Electrical appliances

These include but are not limited to electrical bulbs, tube-lights, washing machines, air conditioners, refrigerators etc.

Longevity related issues, sudden stop in functionality, clogs/leaks and all can be observed in the electrical appliances. These are not to taken lightly as serious electrical shock hazards have resulted in cases due to negligence of faulty appliances. Not to mention tons of clothes to be washed or a summer day without your air-conditioner working

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Lets look at the contemporary options for drinking water at our homes,

1. Metro Water - Apparently the treated metro water still has organic and inorganic contaminants.    Boiling, eBoiling etc do a limited job in killing microbes (Bacteria, virus), but does a poorly against chemical contaminants in the water.  Of course using an Aquaguard can get rid of some chemical contaminants too (but I am not sure if it can remove all inorganic contaminants in our water). 

2. Ground water - Same as above

3. Buying Purified drinking water - Expensive water from Coke, Pepsi, Bisleri, Team deliver quality consistently.   Cheaper local supplies may be laced with contaminants.

It is okay to keep status-quo, but test the water you drink at a lab for “ALL” organic and inorganic contaminants, before you consume.   Many people whom I have talked to hold a notion, that body exposed to contaminated water makes you immune.   It may not be always true, as chemical contaminants like mercury, lead, cadmium can do irreparable damage to our brain and body.  

So if the lab results are unsatisfactory best is to establish Reverse Osmosis plant at home.    It starts at about RS10,000 (8 litres per hour, Annual maintenance of about Rs600), and since this technology extracts pure water, its free of all contaminants (same as what the Pepsi, Coke, Team or Bisleri delivers as Purified drinking water)…..However if your well water is safe (take samples when the water table is low as well as when the water table is high), that would be better as it can have good minerals in it.

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Today, space at home is a luxury - well almost. Have you even got this feeling when you see your apartment empty that , “wow there is a lot of space here”. But a few months down the line you wonder, “how did I manage to fill this up so much?”

The answer lies in space managment. Everyone like to have a lot of room in their homes but given the sheer volume of furnitures, this space quickly vanishes away leaving us wondering, how to move on.

I will try and address a few tips which could be a space saver for your and your family.

1. Pre constuction planning - I suggest that you try and utilize as much as possible of wardrobes and shelve space as possible. Make sure that they go into the wall and not stand out. The later can make the scenario even worse. In-wall wardrobes if furnished well are a great alternative to steel almirahs. They also offer you more storage.
2. Plan your furniture requirements ahead in case you are buying a new home and also new furniture. If you are trying to shift your existing furniture into your new home, try and plan it on paper and see for yourself what goes where. This way you can possibly adjust somethings and end up more happy with your space utilization factor. Last option, if your current furniture is a bit old and out of place, I suggest you trade it in for new furniture which blends better with the new surroundings.
3. Try and wall mount certain items like Microwave, Television (yes even the CRT based TV can be wall mounted), telephones, volatge stabilizers. Use your creativity here. The results can be surprising.
4. Optimum lighting can create an illusion of more space. Make sure there are no dark spots when choosing lighting fixtures. An evenly lit home looks more spacious.
5. Mark the pathway clearly and make sure no appliance, piece of furniture or any other item even gets into the way. One of the first reasons why the house looks less spacious is because you have less space to walk and your mind associates this with lack of space. Organization of placement is very important.

In my opinion, these are basic pointers to creating more space from what is available. If there are more, we would love to hear from you. Drop in some comments.

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Thought I’ll list down all the ways in which one can reduce carbon emissions from a home. This is becoming a hot topic these days, especially with regard to companies trading in carbon credits and so forth. For the uninitiated, one carbon credit is equivalent to one ton of carbon emissions and the price I believe, ranges from around $15 to $20. ITC for one, has made a big brouhaha about becoming carbon negative. But that’s beside the point. The point being that even ordinary homes can try to become carbon negative if they care about global warming. I really don’t know the figures involved here (whether a carbon negative home is feasible or not) and will have to research this much more before giving a clear path for people to follow. Google actually gave me a result of exactly one when I searched ‘carbon negative home’. Amazing. Anyway, that has to wait. For now, am just making a list of the various ways in which carbon emissions can be reduced from our homes.

• Plant trees if you have space. More the better. Needless, to say this is a good investment for the future, if you choose the right sapling (say like teak). Besides that it looks great in your garden apart from the shade.
• Keep some plants indoor if you live in an apartment. When well done, it is quite charming.
• Use a solar water heater. This will actually save you significant amount of money as well, and is fast becoming a mainstream option in the Indian climate.
• Go in for solar lighting.
• Use CFL instead of incandescent lamps.
• Always buy energy efficient devices.
• Get your car to run on LPG. This can also save you quite a bit of money.
• Be kind on the air conditioner (and to yourself) by keeping it at moderate temperatures like 26 than the sub 24 ones. After all, there is no need to live in the Arctic even if it has become Sahara outside.
• And finally the one you mother always told you to do, ‘switch off that light if you are not using it’.

As you might have noticed all the actions focus on one of three things:

• Reducing your indirect emissions (reduce power consumption -> less power is generated -> less emissions)
• Reducing your direct emissions (from your vehicle etc.)
• Increasing carbon intake (growing our green cousins)

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If your house is under construction, a very valuable tip for saving costs.    Interlocking tiles are better than Eurocon/Ultra kind of concrete designer tiles for the following reasons,

1. Interlocking tiles can be laid on bare earth (no need for preparation using PCC foundation or masonry, which are required for concrete designer tiles)

2. Interlocking tiles can be relaid

If your house is just finished, and not your pathways, you can occupy the house the very next day using interlocking tiles.   Later on when the fresh ground settles, you may notice some interlocking tiles caving-in.   You can remove the individual tile and lay sand underneath or fill sand across the pathway and relay the interlocking tiles.    Also if you want water to drain off the interlocking tiles, you can simply fill some cement plaster at the joints.   Of course I have used both for my home, as Concrete designer tiles has  a great aesthetics, especially near the entrance.   

Cost of Economics:

Interlocking tiles:

Tile: Rs.15 - Rs.25 /sq foot

Ground preparation: Sand at Rs.30 cu/feet, approx. Rs.5-10/sq foot of tile.

Labor: < Rs.3 / sq foot

Concrete tiles:

Tile: Rs.35 - Rs.45 /sq foot

Ground preparation: Sand Rs 5-1o /sq foot, PCC Rs.25-30/sq foot, Plaster Rs15-20/ sq foot

Labor: Rs.12/sq foot

So we are looking at 3-4x savings using interlocking tiles, which have the added convenience that it can be relaid.
 

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