4) a) Why are EXTERNAL PAINTS for a house important? What are wall sidings or claddings?

 In continuation with the earlier article on ‘the various stages in construction of a house’, after construction of walls and roofs, the next step is external finishes.

In this article we will be discussing on the external wall claddings and paintings which are a part of external finishing’s of a house

In PKC Realtors, we will give our clients the premium quality of paints at best affordable prices with a classy look of claddings as well.

Paints:

A fresh coat of house paint may seem like a money burning exercise, or superficial addition but when you think of the actual points there are some key benefits to painting your home’s exterior

Why does painting actually matter?

• Painting not only brings in aesthetic look but also has many functional advantages for a home
• Some of these will kick in immediately, improving your home’s qualities, while others accumulate over time as cost-saving measures

Listed below are the 7 important benefits of exterior house painting.

• Better Aesthetics:

• Don’t neglect the aesthetic value that house painting can bring
• You will see something newer and livelier every time you go out or come into your house and that goes beyond a simple color choice 
• A fresh coat of paint can make your house seem newer and also putting your whole house in a different light

• Increased Home Value:

• The valuation of your house increases drastically when you go for exterior renovation especially painting
• Remodeling of your kitchens, bedrooms, halls will attract only a small RoI(80%) where as exterior paints will attract more than 140% returns as per industry standards

• Better appeal:

• If you’re interested in selling your home, exterior paint can greatly increase your potential curb appeal
• Appeal of a house is independent of both home value and personal appeal (though it’s related to those factors); instead, appeal is all about setting the right tone when a prospective buyer sees your home for the first time 
• For a potential sale, if they like the appeal of the exterior, they’ll be far more likely to venture in for more details and stand a better chance of actually buying

• Increased protection against natural elements:

• Nature can be harsh on your house, anything can happen out of the blue
• Rain, wind, sleet, snow, insects and fire are just a handful of the natural elements that could potentially damage your house
• Right paint can resist nearly all of these(only to a certain extent)
• Think of paint as a protective, shield-like outer coating of your house
• It can prevent moisture from seeping into your home, preventing the outlandish costs of mold and mildew damage
• It gives an extra layer of protection against direct precipitation damage
• It can even stop insects from infesting your exterior

• Identification of insect damage:

• Speaking of insects, termite damage is a major killer for wood-based homes
• Being able to identify this problem and address it proactively is crucial if you want to save yourself some extremely expensive foundational repairs
• Evaluating your house before adding a fresh coat a paint can help you identify any possible insect damage early, and adding the paint itself can help stop an infestation in its tracks

• Increased lifespan:

• A new coat of exterior paint can help increase the lifespan of your house 
• Most traditional forms of wall claddings, such as wood or vinyl, need to be replaced periodically to keep your house protected
• If new paint can add even a few years onto the lifespan of the wall claddings, you could end up saving lakhs on rupees in eventual expenses
• In addition, new paint can help you cover up or temporarily repair damage that your old wall cladding has sustained (do note that house painting is not a suitable substitute for siding replacement if it is in a very poor condition)

• Practical costs:

• To top it all off, house painting is one of the cheapest renovations you can make
• If you’re looking for a budget-friendly way to improve the value, appeal, and function of your house, go for it!

Hence it is understood that external paintings of a house are very much important and they shouldn’t be neglected.

Sidings or Claddings:

• Siding or wall cladding is the protective material attached to the exterior side of a wall of a house  
• Along with the roof, it forms the first line of defense against the elements, most importantly sun, rain, snow, heat and cold, thus creating a stable, more comfortable environment on the interior side
• The siding material and style also can enhance or detract from the building's beauty
• There is a wide and expanding variety of materials to side with, both natural and artificial, each with its own benefits and drawbacks

The various types of claddings we use at PKC Realtors are-

• Timber Claddings:

• Timber cladding is a very popular cladding material, particularly around residential buildings
• It gives a very natural and aesthetic feel to a building exterior

• Concrete Claddings:

• Concrete cladding is usually considered as a material to be used in commercial buildings and is manufactured in the form of cladded tiles
• These tiles are cut in a limited number of shapes and they also take longer time to install therefore labour costs will be higher
• Concrete cladding tiles are very strong, durable and only require a very small amount of annual maintenance

• Fibre Cement Claddings:

• These are made up of a combination of cellular fibre, compressed sand, water and cement creating wet sheets
• Fibre cement cladding is a low cost cladding sheet
• It is very easy to install and can come in a variety of different colours
• Maintenance is not a big issue with this material as it only requires a small amount of annual cleaning

• Metal Claddings:

• Metal cladding is the most common cladding material used in commercial buildings 
• Steel cladding is commonly used for commercial purposes as it is a strong, durable, low in maintenance and it is also very pleasing to the eye
• Aluminium cladding is also popular as it is very affordable, requires low maintenance and is easy to install on site
• Both steel, aluminium offer very low thermal insulation performance to a building

• Stone Claddings:

• Stone cladding is very popular when it comes to residential buildings
• It gives a real natural aesthetic feel to a building and is sometimes combined with another exterior finish or render to give a new dimension to the building
• Stone is a very good insulator and also durable material as it is able to withstand years of weathering making it a very popular exterior choice for residential buildings
• However, stone cladding can be a very expensive material to install and maintain

• Vinyl cladding system or Vinyl Siding

 

• Vinyl cladding/siding is predominately made for cladding the exterior faces of houses and other residential buildings
• Vinyl cladding comes in a variety of colours and patterns, and is also a cost-effective material as it reduces the cost of heating and cooling the living space that it is built on
• This material requires little or no maintenance and can withstand harsh weathering 
• The major disadvantage with vinyl cladding is that, this material can cover up problems such as damp or other moisture problems which allows mould to grow 

• Weatherboard Claddings:

• Weatherboard cladding is a common type of cladding used on residential building and can be carried out with a wide variety of materials like fibre cement and UPVC, and in a range of colours and effects
• It is an extremely durable method of cladding the exterior of a building and it can be applied to a variety of substrates
• Weatherboard cladding usually requires a thorough annual maintenance routine to be kept at best condition

Therefore these are the various type of sidings/claddings used by PKC Realtors for external finishings.

In the next part of this article, we will be discussing on the doors and windows of a house

For more information,

People can get in touch with me in LinkedIN, Facebook, Instagram

PK,

PKC Groups.

One of the many stories which my father had told me, this was told when I was in 4th standard. Changed the way I think.

 One of the many stories which my father had told me. This story he told me when I was in 4^th standard.

A Pigeon along with her 3 babies had their nest on a tree which was in a very big farm land.

The owner of that farm used to visit his farm land oftenly. 

• One day when the owner visited his land he saw the tree (which has the nest) and thought of telling his worker who was working in the farm to axe it as it was of no use to him and went away. When their mother went to bring them food, the 3 baby pigeons over heard what the farm owner thought and were worried.

When the mother returned they told what they heard. After hearing everything the mother told them not to worry and she assured them that nothing will happen to them

• On the 2^ndday, again on his visit the owner saw the tree as it is. (the worker didn’t axe the tree which the owner told him to do the previous day) This time he thought of telling his son to axe the tree. The baby pigeons over heard the same and were once again worried

When the mother returned to the nest with the food they, told what they have heard. This time ANXIOUSLY! After hearing everything, the mother told them not to worry and asked them to eat the food and sleep

• On the 3^rdday, again on his visit the owner was not happy as his son couldn’t get the job done and thought of getting a worker from his house to axe the tree. The baby pigeons over heard the same, this time they were even more worried.  

Again when the mother returned to the nest with the food, they told what they have heard. This time even more anxiously! After hearing everything the mother again assured them that she will take care of it

• On the 4^thday, again on his visit the farm owner wasn’t happy seeing the tree. He thought that everyone is busy in their own work and he will come tomorrow and axe the tree on his own by not depending on any one. The baby pigeons over heard the same

This time when the mother was back home, the babies told their mother what they overheard in a very fetish tone. This time as soon as the mother heard she didn’t wait for a second and took her babies away from there.

 

Moral:

Never ever depend on other people for what you want! Stop believing in miracles and start working.

For more information,

People can get in touch with me in LinkedIN, Facebook, Instagram

PK,

PKC Groups.

4) What are the EXTERNAL FINISHES of a house? Is external finishing important?

 In continuation with the earlier article on ‘the various stages in construction of a house’, after construction of walls and roofs, the next step is external finishes.

In this article we will be discussing on the external finishing’s of a house

In PKC Realtors, once the walls and roofs are laid we will start the external finishes of the house. What are the processes in external finishes and their advantages are discussed below-

External Finishes: 

Building finishes comprise of- 

• Plastering, 
• Pointing, 
• Painting, 
• Varnishing, 
• White and Color washing or Distempering

Advantages: 

• These finishes fundamentally form a protective coating to the disclosed surface and thereby increase the life span of the materials. 
• They also protect the building from adverse weather conditions and also add beauty to the building
• Any external finish, should not require any maintenance over a long period, unless if it is painted with some colors. 
• External finishes are required to protect the surfaces from rain penetration into the walls and also to cracks on the walls

Plastering:

Plastering is the process of covering rough walls and uneven surfaces in the construction of houses and other structures with a plastic material, called plaster, 

Plaster: Is a mixture of lime or cement concrete and sand along with the required quantity of water

Objectives of Plastering:

• To give a uniform and durable finished surface
• To ensure that dust and dirt should not accumulate on the walls
• To create a good surface for taking colors wash or paint

The durability of plastering depends on the background adhesion and can be good if it has enough strength and plain enough for a suitable application of plaster. 

External finishes for surfaces:

The external walls are finished with proper additional material than mortar to attain certain factors like the desired appearance of the surface, cost, a degree of maintenance etc., 

Here are some of the external finishes commonly done by PKC Realtors-

• Sand Faced Finish:

• This finish contains 2-coats
• 1^st Coat: is carried out in cement mortar(1:4 ratio. 1- part cement, 4- parts of clean coarse river sand)
• 2^nd Coat: is carried out in 1:1 plaster
• The surface should be well cured with water for at least 15 days

• Pebble Dash Finish:

• This type of finish is also known as dry-dash finish, which is of 12mm thickness
• Above this plaster, small pebbles or crushed stones of suitable sizes are cast and left exposed
• The pebbles are sometimes lightly pressed into the mortar after throwing to gain a good amount of aesthetic determination

• Rough Cast Finish:

• This type is also called a spatter dash finish
• 1:3 ratio(1- part cement, 3- parts of coarse-grained sand by volume)
• The mortar is dashed against the surface by a large trowel and is roughly finished by the light movements of a wooden flat

• Scrapped Finish:

• In this type of finish, the terminal coat of mortar is left to become firm for a few hours
• This finish is a rough finish and is less liable to the cracks

• Smooth Cast Finish:

• This cast is similar to rough cast finish but provides a smooth surface due to the use of fine-grained sand

• Textured Finish:

• In this type, the final coat of plaster is made of ornamental patterns or textured surfaces like ribbed stucco of fan textures

• Depter Finish:

• This finish is also similar to rough cast finish except when the coat is wet, pieces of gravel or flint are pressed with hand on the surface
• We can have the desired patterns selecting materials of a different kind

• Machine Applied Finish:

• Machines are used to throw or spatter the material on the wall in a variety of ways to obtain a variety  of finishes
• The machine may be manually operated or mechanically operated

Therefore these are some of the external finishes of a house.

In the next part of this article, we will be discussing on the different types of claddings and paintings as part of external finishes

For more information,

People can get in touch with me in LinkedIN, Facebook, Instagram

PK,

PKC Realtors.

Did you know from where did the SAREE originate? What is SATIKA ?

We at PKC Laundries offer the following services to a saree

• Washing
• Dry-cleaning
• Rolling
• Polishing
• Dyeing
• Steam Ironing 

We are into this business from 6 years. Apart from the services we offer we have also researched on many details about a saree. We will be sharing you many interesting stories on- from where the sarees have originated to types of sarees to business related to sarees and many more.

In this article I will be taking you through the origin of a SAREE and its various types.

History:

• Sari is a fashionable garment now, but it started from being a humble drape used by women thousands of years ago. The origin of this drape or a garment similar to the sari is traced back to the Indus Valley Civilization, which came into being during 2800–1800 BC in North West India
• It is traditionally worn in the countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal
• The journey of sari began with cotton, which was first cultivated in the Indian subcontinent around 5th millennium BC
• The cultivation was followed by weaving of cotton which became big during the era, as weavers started using prevalent dyes like indigo, lac, red madder and turmeric to produce the drape used by women to hide their modesty

Name:

The garment evolved from a popular word 'satika' which means women's attire, in ancient India in Sanskrit literature. 

Satika was a three-piece ensemble comprising-

• Antriya - the lower garment, 
• Uttariya - a veil worn over the shoulder or the head  
• Stanapatta which is a chest band

Dimensions:

A sari is a garment that consists of an unstitched drape varying from 4.5 to 9mtrs or 15 to 30 ft. in length and 600 to 1,200 mm or 24 to 47 inches in breadth

Types of Sarees:

Women traditionally wore various types of regional handloom sarees made of silk, cotton, ikkat, block-print, embroidery and tie-dye textiles 

The development of textiles in India started reflecting in the designs of the saris they started including figures, motifs, flowers, beads etc.,

Years later with the advent of foreigners, the rich Indian women started asking the weavers to use expensive stones, gold threads to make exclusive sarees for them, which could make them stand out. 

With industrialization entering India, synthetic dyes made their official entry. Local traders started importing chemical dyes from other countries and along came the unknown techniques of dyeing and printing, which gave Indian saris a new unimaginable variety.

With increasing foreign influence, sari became the first Indian international garment.

There are hundreds of saree types based on various regions in India. Some of the popular sarees we will be discussing are-

• Banarasi, Shalu, - Uttar Pradesh
• Pattu- Himachal Pradesh
• Chaderi, Maheshwari- Madhya Pradesh
• Kosa Silk- Chhattisgarh
• Tant, Baluchari Saree, Kaantha saree- West Bengal
• Mooga Silk- Assam
• Sambalpuri Silk and Cotton Saree, Ikkat Silk and Cotton Saree, Bomkai Saree, Kandua Silk and Cotton Saree, Pasapali Saree- Odisha
• Bandhani, Patola- Gujarat
• Kota doria, Bagru- Rajasthan
• Lugade- Maharashtra
• Mysore Silk, Sulebhavi Saree, Molkalmuru saree- Karnataka
• Kanchipuram Silk, Ilkl saree, Salem silk, Kandangi, Koorai, Chennai, Karaikudi, Tiruchirappalli sarees, Nagercoli sarees, Thoothukudi, Thanjavur sarees, Tiruppur- Tamil Nadu
• Gadwal, Pochampally sarees, Narayanpet, Dharmavaram Silk, Uppada Silk Sarees, Venkatagiri, Mangalagiri Silks- Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
• Kerala Silk, Balarampuram, Mundum Neriyathum- Kerala

Banarasi Silk:

Dharmavaram Silk:

Kanchipuram Silk:

Mysore Silk:

Pattu Saree:

Pochampally Silk:

Kota saree:

Sambalpuri Saree :

Tant Saree:

What started as India's first seamless garment, went onto become the symbol of Indian femininity.

In the next part of this article, we will be discussing on the saree making techniques

For more information,

People can get in touch with me in LinkedIN, Facebook, Instagram

PK,

PKC Groups. 

3) b)What is a ROOF? What are the different types of roofs and their functions?

 In continuation with the earlier article on ‘the various stages in construction of a house’, after laying the slab, the next step is construction of walls and roof structure.

In this article we will be discussing on what is a roof, types of roofs and their various functions!

Roof:

• A roof is covering of the top of a building, serving to protect against rain, snow, sunlight, wind, and extremes of temperature 
• Roofs do much more than just serving the basic purpose of protecting a home and its occupants from sun, wind, rain, snow and other outside elements
• For instance, the shape of a roof plays a huge role in defining and characterizing the complete look and elegance of a house 
• In addition to this, a roof plays a prominent role in making a home more resilient, weatherproof and energy efficient, also it provides some additional living space
• Hence, when building a new house or remodeling an existing one, choosing the right type of roof can be one difficult task for most of the people. 

In this article we will be discussing about the 8 roof types most suitable and commonly seen in India

• Thatched Roofs:

• The earliest roofs constructed by man were probably thatched roofs that were made of straw, leaves, branches, or reeds 
• They were usually set at a slope, or pitch, so that rainfall could drain off them 
• Conical thatched roofs are a good example of this type and are still widely used in the rural areas of Africa and elsewhere 
• Thicker branches and timbers eventually came to be used to span a roof, with clay or some other relatively impermeable substance pressed into the interstices between them 
• With the invention of brick and cut stone for building, the basic roof forms of the dome and vault appeared
  

• Flat Roof:

• Much of ancient architecture in India is made using flat roofs
• It is one of the simplest types of roof and very commonly seen in our country 
• This roof types instantly adds additional living space, which no other roofing style does maybe not that easily 
• This roof type is ideal for creating open spaces for humans to visit, gardening, dining, akin to a patio or deck
• The installation process of a flat roof is simple, the standard materials used are Rubber and cement

• Parapet Roof:

• The concept is similar to Flat roofs 
• A parapet typically is defined as an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, walkway, balcony, or other structure 
• On modern roofs, parapet can be both a safety feature or a constructional and stylistic feature 
• A large ratio of flat roofs features a parapet of some height, no wonder parapets often go unnoticed on modern houses as they commonly appear as the line of a flat roof

• Gable Roof:

• These are axiomatic roof types
• The term ‘gable’ typically refers to the triangle shaped spot formed when two pitched areas of the roof come together
• This is one of the most popular roof types in India.
• It is easy to build, sheds water easily, facilitates ventilation and can be applied to most of the house designs
• These type of roofs are popular in those parts of the world with cold or moderate climates 
• In India, these kinds of roofs are most commonly seen on huts, private bungalows & cottages, villas, and chalets

• Box Gable:

• Box gabled roofs are almost very similar to open Gable roofs, with one minor difference
• This type of roof has 2 sloping sides which meet to form a ridge, with a triangular extension on either side that is typically boxed off from the walls
• Box gables are popular for areas which have cold weather conditions, as it offers a stable design which deals well with rain and snow

• Hip Roof:

• A roof form which has all sides slope downwards towards the walls
• Normally hipped roof has 4 sides, two with triangle shapes and two with trapezoids 
• These are more stable than gable roof and perform great in high wind areas
• Also, owing to the extra eaves on all sides, the hip roof can provide extra shade during the warm summer months keeping the home cooler

• Skillion Roof:

• A skillion roof is also commonly called a shed roof, these are totally different from flat or gable roofs
• These have one single flat surface which is steeper with a more noticeable pitch
• These roofs are easy to install and at the same time cost effective
• This roof type doesn’t suffer from the drainage issues encountered by less steeply pitched roofs and they also provide the opportunity to add natural light by allowing skylight installations 
• These roofs are a symbol of sophisticated and modern design

• Combination Roof:

• It is difficult for one single roof type to be ideal for any house
• More than that climate or even how your building is situated on the property (sunlight, wind, etc.) plays a huge role in deciding the type of roof
• Combination roofs come to rescue in such circumstances
• A combination roof integrates a design of two or more roof types on the same structure for aesthetic and practical reasons

Therefore these are the different types of roofs used in construction of a house.

In the next part of this article, we will be discussing on the EXTERNAL FINISHES of a house

For more information,

People can get in touch with me in LinkedIN, Facebook, Instagram

PK,

PKC Realtors.