Customized Homes- What ? Why? & When ?

What are Customized Homes ?

In reality, Customization is nothing but Personalization of a Standard Product or an Object such that it suits your own needs.  As most of us who live in Cities, are very well  aware that due to rising cost of land & also non availability of time ,it is really difficult for us to purchase a piece of land & construct a tailor made home for our family. Hence we look for prebuilt options in apartments & housing societies which are generally developed by private developers. Here based upon our budget & choice of locality, we still come up with certain selection criteria but we still get a Standardized apartment. Thus your family & the person next door will have exactly the same house plan.

Customization of Homes is a Concept , where within the given constraints of the overall structure of entire building, the external facade, the electrical, plumbing systems & of course your budget, you make systematic changes in the standard house purchased by you.

Why to Customize your Home?

One Primary reason, is that every family is unique with its own cultural, ethnic & financial background. Life styles differ, Thus “How do we Live ?” Differ.

Requirements differ also based upon the composition of the Family. A large Joint family who is Living together in a Single apartment may require layers of privacy within the same house . But a couple with a single child or no child may have different requirements,

Another issue is the Standardization of Internal Finishes, Flooring tiles, Wall tiles, and Electrical & Plumbing fixtures given by the developer. This I have faced with few of my NRI clients or Clients who are used to different type of gadgets , plumbing fixtures which are easily available in the western countries in Europe & USA but when it comes to installing the same in India, the developers may not be aware or may not be cooperative as they are more interested in completing the  construction of the overall housing project. Currently many Home automation systems  & other advanced electrical appliances or sanitary fittings are available. It is best if same are integrated as concealed systems when construction is on,

There are many times certain issues faced by families who buy Pre owned houses. The earlier owners may have a different way of living, different liking in terms of finishes & fixtures. The other common issues seen are that if the Pre owned house is old there may be damages & repairs are required. Customization of Resale houses is different altogether as it may involve different construction techniques & strategies.  

Many times there are members in your family with special needs. There may be Old parents or grandparents who may find difficult to walk or use the standard sanitary fittings & fixtures or Little children where child safety will of immediate concern.

More common reason many times is Renovation of old home as per current lifestyle needs where ‘Customization’ can be better Strategy instead of just asking your contractor to change flooring, tiles & painting just for good looks

When to Customize your Home?

The answer is –For New homes, best time is to intervene is during construction of the building. Best stage is even before your floor slab is cast. Next best is when the columns , roof slab & floor beams are yet to be cast, where you can integrate any electrical or plumbing fixtures. Next best is when the brickwork is on & you can integrate you own systems in concealed conduits & plumbing before the internal plaster& flooring is done.

For Pre owned houses, it is best to take the Renovation step earlier before you occupy & get the sought out Customization done. But many times there has been an experience that, the real strategies for changes to be done come to your mind once you start living in the home. 

One thing to take note of that getting a Pre owned house Customized is bit more costlier as it involves repairs & breaking of earlier systems.

Process of Systematic Customization of Homes

Currently most of the time at least in India, Customization is not handled systematically. Though it requires professional help from Experienced Architects, changes are explained verbally on site by home owners to Site supervisors or Site engineers, expecting them to do the same on site. Of course many times there are mistakes & rectification is grossly overcharged. It is also seen that when you order any different fittings or material finishes, developers overcharge & quality of product is not guaranteed. Very few large developers have for large projects something which they call as ‘Changes department’ which is managed by In house Architects. Grossly In simple terms it is like popping Pills on your own without going to the doctor

Customization is a systematic & scientific approach. It required detail consultation with Architects who can diagnose your needs, study the existing systems of the house under question & give measures in form of detail drawings & documents. The costing part also remains in control as overall costing of Customization is worked out in advanced. In many cases if a certain special skilled labour is required, it can be made available. Once for an apartment in a large new housing project, when we gave a detail set of Construction drawings & Material specification along with costing sheet, the Site engineers were more than Happy with the Home buyer Family as they got a clear cut direction of what exactly to do & the construction team could complete the work well before time.

So the key is “Have your own Ideas” but “Involve Professionals” for Customizing your Homes

Ar. Hrishikesh Ashtekar

How to check the Area of your New apartment you are Purchasing?

Now a then we keep on hearing complaints by people who are booking new apartments that the size of the apartment does not seem as large as mentioned in the saleable area given by the developer.

Here is a easy way to calculate the approximate Carpet area of your house:

1)      Generally in India, currently the most commonly used tile size is around 2 feet X 2 feet (600 mm x 600mm) in dimension

      2)      Take the brochure given by the developer in your hand

3)      Standing  in the entrance door, orient the plan given in the brochure as per your standing point

      4)      Count the exact number of tiles in the Living room...

5)      You can measure a typical tile under your feet & confirm the area of one single tile (generally it is 4.0 sq ft)

     6)      Multiply the exact number of counted tiles by this area to get an area

7)      Confirm that the area is more or less matching with the Room dimensions given in the developer’s    brochure

      8)      Now go Room by Room & check each area. Also check area of common passages,
            terraces & also add area of Door Jamb (tiles in the doorway)

9)      Add all areas written by you on the Brochure to get the Total Carpet area of your home

10) Additionally the approximate Built up area (generally on which the per square foot calculation of costing is based) of the house can be calculated by adding another 20% loading of the Carpet area. Generally it is good to ask the developer what is the ratio he has considered for loading of the Built up area versus the Carpet area

There may still be a 5 % to maximum 7% percent variation in case the developers has considered room dimension from un plastered surfaces of wall of rooms, but at least any drastic variation beyond this may easily come to your notice before you book & pay your hard earned money to the developer.
On a safer side, it may still be worthwhile to spend a little & get the area exactly measured through your Architect if more variation is observed & your Developer is unable to explain the reason for it.

Ar. Hrishikesh Ashtekar