Again on square feet cost-Query and reply

QUOTE

Let me be frank in saying that I am planning to construct only a single floored house with about 1000 to 1500 sq ft area.  It would be grateful if you could tell me the estimation also.  I know it cannot be fixed, but at least I will have an idea of the amount.  As I have no experience in these rates and especially the rates in Kerala, as I was born and brought up in Hyderabad.
 
Hope you would do the needful.

Smitha

My reply

Without any data,without using Engineering Estimate methods,a professional like me is not supposed to give any guess estimate.It is against professional ethics to misguide a client using a non professional baseless term called square feet cost
Even the plinth area of house indicated by you is just a guess.Only after preparing a plan of the house by a professional,you will know even that figure
House construction is not that simple as going and buying rice from market.It involves hundreds of materials and lot of skilled labour.

With professional guidance you can get best value for your money with maximum utility for the house and a professional if engaged through out construction will guide you on how to  reduce cost ,if that is your concern.
 
I have directly built more than 200 houses in Kerala.When completed all these houses had different square feet cost and hence I do not know on what basis such a term is used.
If you tell me how many rooms and other facilities you need in the house,location of place where house has to come I can possibly give a guess
But the golden rule in house construction is simply this:
Do not wait for entire money expected for house construction to reach you.Cost of construction increases at least by 20% every three months.If you do not start construction immediately,you may not even be able to reach your dream house tomorrow.Tomorrow will be too late.

Commencement of construction of house-Query and reply

QUOTE

I am searching for an Engineering firm to help me with plan preparation for home in Vaikom. I need flexibility from the firm in incorporating our ideas. We have some pictures that we have picked up from design magazines that we want to use to guide the design. I am non resident (US) so I need the process of plan iterations and discussions done through email/phone. Also I have my parents living next to the plot to oversee construction so I may not need your help with supervision/ construction itself. Please let me know if that is OK. 

My reply

A house is designed by any qualified and experienced Architect after studying the following
1.Plot and surroundings
2.Vasthu aspects of the plot if the Architect is conversant with Vasthu
3.Modern architectural and structural engineering concepts.
4.Relevant building rules of the location
5.Your budget limitations if any
Elevation of any other house may not exactly suit your house as elevation depends to a great extent on the plan of the house.Only after finalising the plan,Elevation can be considered.It may be possible for the Architect to understand your elevational hopes if you show him some of the elevation you liked.But you have to understand that elevation is dependent on plan of the house which will have to be discussed and finalised at first.

Having your relatives at site may help you in  coordinating with the work.But your relative cannot substitute an experienced building professional as building construction require design details and instructions from a professional at every stage of construction.Plan and Elevation are only starting drawings for construction.More detailed drawings,engineering details are required for proper implementation of work at every stage and steps of construction.

You also need skilled workers who follow best construction practices and drawings of a professional correctly to get work done well.In interior locations,one worker and his co workers do entire works related to construction.But a professional agency use workers with expertise for each type of works and it will give you better quality of work.

Cost of construction-query and reply

QUERY

How much did it cost to build that home in Irinjalakuda?
Anuj

My Reply

There is no point in asking how much it cost for some one to build a house.
In house construction we use hundreds of materials and hundreds of skilled labour for various type of works
Cost of all these keep raising day by day
Once you decide to construct a house do it fast.Do not wait till it become impossible  for you to manage funds
Of course qualified and experienced professional guidance can ensure better value for money spent and lesser cost due to proper guidance

Cost of house-Query and reply

QUOTE

I just came across your site.
 
Could you  please give me the  approximate cost for a 2800 S.feet house with reasonably good finishing including all charges.
to build the same for my cousin in Trichur.
 
Sree Jayan

My reply

Look. It  looks like very easy to find out cost of constructing a house.On your own you assume square feet plinth area of the house without even preparing a plan and then like going and finding cost of a Kg of onion from the shop, an Architect is expected to tell you square feet plinth area of constructing a house which cannot be done in a day or week or month.

Construction of house require at least an year.During this period of construction cost of hundreds of different material used for construction normally goes up in Kerala conditions.Some times it is not even available

For example take the case of few materials.
Rubble used for foundation work cannot be taken that easily.There are so many restrictions,too many licenses,too many government officials to be bribed to take rubble and transport it to site.

River sand simply cannot be taken or transported.But still transporters try to supply it with the hope of extracting money as they demand from the builder.So they bribe as required to ever willing bribe takers who consider government job as a license to take bribes

Almost all materials are to be transported to site.Even after taxing more than 100%,government  has no hesitation in increasing price of petroleum products and never bothering to reduce cost even if international price of crude oil reduces.Cost of diesel is now more than when international prices were double.Both state and central government consider petroleum products as cash cows.

With each increase in petroleum products, price of every material goes up.During one year period of construction of house,nobody knows how many times price of diesel will go up.

Transporting  river sand is like smuggling activity.So many have to be bribed.Transporter naturally would like higher profit for transporting such a risky material.

Getting good workers regularly for construction work is a big challenge.So if you need workers you have to pay them what they demand even if they are not very good quality workers.Here demand is more and supply is less.

Even with all these you want the contractor (trying to make money by building your house) to commit a firm square feet cost of construction ,that too lesser than what others may quote if he want  your work.

He is not educated or articulate  enough like me to explain the meaningless nature of your so called “square feet rate”.So to get work from you he  will quote lower square feet rate and you  will be only happy to learn or even dream about his possible loss by taking up your construction work!

I have seen several times happiness on the face of my clients whenever material and other input cost goes up just by imagining  his saving of money by obtaining a “square feet rate” from contractor.Like most of Malayalees you will also be happy to think about losses your contractor will make by doing your work.

But if you think that you are smart and your contractor is a fool,you are mistaken.

With varying cost of all inputs of construction like material and labour,he will have to compromise on quality of construction to make profit.He will make you believe that all improper construction practices followed by him are the right way of doing the construction and you do not know what is right and wrong in construction .So you believe him.
Even after doing all quality compromises if he is still not able to make profit,he will ask for rate revision or extra charges when he is sure that no other contractor will come and take up half work done by him
So he will get profit  some how or other by doing your work as he has seen many like you trying to be smarter than him.
Finally when the work near completion with all quality problems which may not be noticeable immediately,contractor will find ways of extracting extras from you and you desperately trying to complete house construction some how.At that point of time “square feet cost” is forgotten by you and by the contractor also.

Square feet cost of construction is simply a lie house builder will have to tell you to get work from you

You should not expect a qualified and experienced house building professional to go to such lower levels of an illiterate contractor (with only one interest-make profit  by hook or crook) to give you such baseless “square feet cost”

End of a cruel selfish politician

I still remember with terror that day in 1977 when I met two Engineering college students transferred to Trichur Engineering college from Calicut REC.They were sons of  a rich business man in Trichur.Those were  days of Indira Gandhi ruling India like a dictator with entire opposition leaders in jail.Son of that business man from Trichur escaped from police custody after paying heavily to one man ruling Kerala as a terror, being close to Indira Gandhi.

Poor Rajan, an Engineering student of Calicut Regional Engineering College was killed without any reason.Till today even after thirty years no body is taken to task for brutal killing of that student ,only hope of a poor family of Eachara Varrier.

The man who authorized and  ordered such brutal killings of innocent people travelled in very high speed on the road unmindful about people knocked down or cyclists pushed to ground by lathees of police men travelling ahead in pilot vehicles for clearing the way of mighty ruler of Kerala!.He thought of himself as one of those prehistoric Kings who did anything for his sadistic pleasures unmindful of  the agony created by his actions to poor people of the country, less privileged.He simply forgotten about being democratically elected ruler”for the people by the people”

He considered himself as King of Kerala and did everything to make entire people of Kerala his strongest haters except of course few to whom he gave ways and means to do anything.They enjoyed  and flourished under him and praised and bowed before him making him feel like being those old Kings.

There were allegations after allegations against him.Entire left parties of Kerala owe him  great gratitude for giving them opportunity to grow in Kerala with the large amount of hatred he generated in the minds of  common people of Kerala by his ruthless way of ruling

But there are politicians who talk high about him.I think their yard sticks are different

Even his children generate only hatred in the minds of people by their words and deeds.

Poor souls of Eachara Varier,his wife and mother of that innocent Engineering College Student Rajan and soul of Rajan must be heaving a sigh of relief today.

Even after thirty years of his brutal killing his murderers are continuing their devilish laugh and the so called “servants of our nation”(politicians ) join the  wild laugh with utter contempt they have for the people of this largest democracy in the world!

New Construction–Reply to query

QUOTE

I am a NRI working in Abu Dhabi.  I am planning to construct a new house in my 11 cent plot and the place is in between pattambi and shoranur and it is a remote area.  My plan is 3 BHK with the minimum required facilities.  My family consists of myself, wife and son and my parents.  I need to construct a house which is cost effective but at the same time it should have the minimum required facilities.
 
Please let us know some ideas and details such as the average cost, etc. because I am planning to apply for a NRI housing loan.
 
,
Suresh K.P.

My reply

Cost can be worked out or a guess Estimate can be made only after we have at least the following data

1.Site visit study

2.Study by Architect about your dreams and needs for your house

3.Plan of the house

Even if these data is available every Estimate is only a more nearer guess by a professional with the assistance of data available to him at the time of preparation of Estimate.

House Construction require several materials.Some of these materials may not necessarily be available in time without much difficulty.Cost of almost all materials used  in construction of house changes mostly upward during construction

Trends and technology changes during course of your house construction

Even the most well managed construction organisation find it difficult to get the right skilled workers at the right time and wages payable to them also keep changing mostly depending upon demand supply theory

So how can any one clearly predict cost of your house construction just  by hearing your intention of constructing a house?

Is a plan enough for building house?

From the mails I receive I get a feeling that lot of people have too many wrong ideas about plan of house.Most important wrong ideas are the following

1.Any plan prepared by any one or taken from any website is good enough for plan of your house

2.There is no meaning in paying a higher fees or charges for getting plan of the house prepared by a well known Architect

3.If the plan of the house is ready, builder of the house can manage everything else.No more need for a professional Architect/Engineer.

4.An Architect can make good elevation of the house for any plan

5.If a picture of the house taken from anywhere is given to an Architect,he can make a similar or same Elevation whatever may be plan of your house.

All these are wrong.

A qualified and experienced Architect will have to discuss in detail with you to understand what exactly you need in the house to be designed and built.

He has to see the land where the building has to come up.By seeing the land,he will visualise your house in the plot,check nature of land,surroundings,level of land,Vasthu aspects if he is good at Vasthu also.He will also check up whether there is any restraining factors for building a house as per Kerala Building rules.

While preparing plan for your house knowledge of Architect and his rich experience is used to design the house to get following:

1.Better facilities for you as per your wishes but with lesser cost

2.Better utilisation of every built up space.No unnecessary or unwanted space in the house.

3.Better features of modern architecture and Kerala Architecture if he is well versed with Kerala Architecture.

4.Vasthu compliance for each portion of the house(If he is good at Vasthu)

5.Better structural design to reduce cost

6.Better appearance for the house

For getting all these benefits is it not worth paying few thousands to an Architect?

Even after preparation of plan and Elevation,there are several architectural and structural engineering drawings required for proper and correct implementation of construction of house.Even the drawings prepared by an Architect as plan and Elevation has to be explained with details for the builder to know how to proceed with construction.

So your need for professional assistance and guidance does not end with preparation of plan.Plan will have to be designed in a manner to obtain a good Elevation.You cannot have any Elevation for any plan.Plan and Elevation are inter related.

When I was finalising plan of the house,one of my client told me that a particular builder can do the construction just by getting plan of the house.Then I told my client that he should not engage that builder if he says like that.He does not even know about need for detailed architecture and structural Engineering drawings and periodic on site supervision by the designer.

Only when the construction started and drawings after drawings on details started coming,my client understood importance of having professional guidance during construction.

And now the money part.For the payment an Architect takes , you save much more in lakhs during construction using his guidance and you finally get a better quality construction at lesser cost with proper utilisation of every built up space with definitely more value for money spent by you.

Do not think that Architects and Engineers are costly.They bring their rich experience,knowledge to make a better house for you and in the process in spite of paying them fees,they reduce cost of constructing your house substantially and guide you to have best and latest facilities and trends for your once in a life time dream house.

Do you want to save those fees given to professional and lose both money and better house by design and construction?