L-Shaped Kitchen and its Benefits

L-shaped kitchen is made up of two perpendicular workspaces. This creates a natural work triangle with continuous counter space and work stations on two adjacent walls. The versatile L-shaped kitchen allows room for plenty of cooks and onlookers. 

The L-shaped kitchen is one of the most popular plans amongst the Modular Kitchen Designs because it makes efficient use of relatively small spaces. This type of plan fits into a corner, creating a work space that's out-of-the-way. The sink, refrigerator, and stove create a triangle that makes it easy to prepare food with minimal movement.

Benefits:

• Benchtops and cabinets can be customized to length

• Great for corner spaces

• Enables better space utilization

• Easy working triangle

• Perfect for small and medium kitchen spaces

• Can easily divide the kitchen into multiple work sites

Simple tips to follow for electrical installation:

• The very first thing to follow is to buy certified products as the quality of the products plays an important role for your safety.
• Create adequate earthing to prevent electrical shocks.
•  Turn off the mains switch on the consumer unit.
• Ensure that every power board has a separate fuse or Mini Circuit Breaker (MCB) which is a tripping device that is activated during short circuit.
• Do not create extra connections than necessary.
•  Plan the power supply cord away from water, oil and heat.
• For protection against electrical shocks, use Residual Current Circuit Breaker (RCCB)/ Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker (ELCG).
• Always get the installation testing done from qualified electricians before using the sockets/plugs etc. 

What is Portland Slag Cement?

Portland Slag Cement (PSC) is manufactured by either inter-grinding in the Portland cement clinker, Gypsum & Granulated Slag or mixing the Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS) with Ordinary Portland Cement by means of mechanical blenders.  It is created with a blend of 45- 50% slag, 45% – 50% clinker, and 3-5% gypsum. Portland slag cement is the most suitable cement for concrete paths, mass concrete uses, structures and bases, pre-cast concrete, concrete open to sea water and oceanic use.

All compositions produce high ultimate strength, but as slag content is increased, initial strength is reduced, while sulfate resistance upsurges and heat evolution moderates.  The hydration of slag is initiated when lime liberated in the hydration of Portland cement provides the correct alkalinity; later hydration does not depend on lime.

Physical requirements:

• The specific surface (fineness) of slag cement shall not be less than 225 m2/kg
• Portland slag cement shall not have an expansion of more than 10 mm and 0.8 percent respectively.
• Initial setting time shall not be less than 30 minutes and final setting time shall not be less than 600 minutes.
• Compressive strength should not be less than 16 Mpa after 3 days, 22 Mpa after 7 days, 33 Mpa after 28 days.  

Advantages of PSC cement:

•         High compressive strength
•         High resistance to chloride and sulphate
•        Good workability
•         Good resistance against alkali-silica reaction
•         Low risk of cracking
•     Superior Finish

Applications:

•          Marine and offshore structures
•         Sewage disposal treatment works
•         Water treatment plants
•         Pre cast concrete products
•          Concrete roads and flyovers
•          Bridges and dams
•         Foundation constructions 

Types of Sand Used in Construction

Sand is loose particles of hard broken rock, it comprises of grains from disintegrated rock. The diameter of grains ranges between 0.06 and 2.0mm in size and varies in shades of brown and orange in colour. Sand provides bulk, strength, and other properties to construction materials like asphalt and concrete. It is also used as a decorative material in landscaping. Specific types of sand are used in the manufacture of glass and as a moulding material for metal casting. Other sand is used as an abrasive in sandblasting and to make sandpaper.

Sand is an significantly important material for the construction but this important material must be purchased with all care and vigilance.

Pit Sand (Coarse sand)

Pit sand is classified under coarse sand which is also called badarpur in common language. This type of coarse sand is procured from deep pits of abundant supply and it is generally in red-orange colour. The coarse grain is sharp, angular and certainly free from salts etc which is mostly employed in concreting.

River Sand

Pit sand is classified under coarse sand which is also called badarpur in common language.This type of coarse sand is procured from deep pits of abundant supply and it is generally in red-orange colour. The coarse grain is sharp, angular and certainly free from salts etc which is mostly employed in concreting.

Crushed Stone Sand / Artificial Sand

It is a substitute for River Sand, it is also known as fine aggregates which is manufactured by crushing either granite or basalt rock using 3 stage crushing process by some companies. This sand is manufactured in conformance to IS Codes and is an effective alternative to river sand.

Building Materials Required for Construction

A list of building materials are required before you start your construction project whether it is home, industrial or for commercial purpose. The basic construction materials list includes cement, steel, sand, ready mix concrete, binding wires, coarse aggregates, fine aggregates, bricks, blocks etc. Any material used in building construction has to be selected carefully to ensure safety and long lasting life of the building.

All the building construction materials come in different grades, sizes and brands which are used for different purposes in construction based on their functionality and strength.

The construction materials list and their uses are listed below:

Cement:

Cement is a material that sets, hardens and can bind together all other building materials. The different grades of cement are 53 grade cement, 43 grade cement, PPC cement, PSC cement, etc. All these different grades of cement are manufactured by a number of brands in India. Some well-known cement brands in India are zuari, ACC cement, birla super cement, ramco, Ultratech cement, Dalmia etc.

Cement in Bangalore is available from Rs 330 Per bag – Rs 425 Per bag. 

TMT Steel:

TMT stands for Thermo-Mechanical Treatment which is a metallurgical process to produce high strength steel bars from low carbon steel. It plays an important role in giving structure to a construction project.  

TMT steel comes in Fe 500 grade, Fe 500 D grade and Fe 550 grade which signifies the strength of the steel in ascending order as mentioned here. Some famous Steel brands in India are Tata Tiscon, Kamdhenu, Jindal Panther, Aone Steel, Bhuwalka, Primegold, Sail, and Indus etc.

TMT prices start from Rs 34000 per ton – Rs 45,000 per ton. 

Sand / Fine Aggregates:

There are two types of sand available in India; River sand and Manufactured river (Also known as Robosand).

River sand is extracted from river bed and manufactured sand is made artificially. The manufactured sand also well-known as the M-sand is gaining popularity due to the recommendation from the government and its fineness and dust free quality and also due to the fact that river sand is scarce in nature and is unavailable and costly.  Besto, Thriveni, Robo silicon, Espee etc. are a few known brands manufacturing M-sand.

Msand starts from Rs 800 Per ton – Rs 1800 per ton depending on the quality and purpose.

Ready mix concrete:

Ready mix concrete is readily available concrete as it is manufactured in a factory and directly delivered at the construction site. It is preferred over the on-site concrete mixing use to the precise mixture and reduced work at site.

Based on its functionality and use RMC is categorized into M-20, M-25, M-30, M-35 etc.

Binding wires:

Binding wires as the name suggests is used to bind the TMT Steel bars and help in providing proper structure to the construction due to the stability of the TMT Steel Bars.

Coarse Aggregates:

Fine aggregates consist of River sand, M-sand or the Slag sand used for construction. Coarse aggregates are the fillers in concrete mixes. It is offered in 6mm, 12mm, 20mm and 40mm sizes in India. Coarse aggregates is also recognized as blue metal, jelly and crushed stone. The purpose of the coarse aggregate is to act as the main load-bearing ingredient of the concrete.

Coarse aggregates start from Rs 650 per ton to Rs 900 per ton depending upon the quality. 

Bricks/Blocks:

Bricks and Blocks are used for building walls. They come in different shapes, sizes and strength based on different construction requirements. High strength bricks and blocks are mainly used for load bearing walls as they have the capacity to withstand the pressure due to the load.

Clay bricks start from Rs 5.5 per bricks and concrete block start from Rs 30 per block in Bangalore. Check concrete block brands and their prices here.

You can now buy all the building materials online in a single package and save time and money-Visit www.materialtree.com

Construction Labor Rates in Bangalore

Construction Labor in Bangalore

The construction labor rates in Bangalore currently range from Rs. 260 / Sft –Rs. 300/ Sft. The scope of works covered depends upon the civil contractor in Bangalore.  Footing , Structure and Masonry works are part of this civil labor. 

Find the list of works generally covered in civil labor:

• Plain Cement Concrete for foundation bed.
• Size stone masonry for foundation footing
• Plinth Beam Concrete
• Interior floor PCC
• Wall Work using clay bricks or concrete blocks. Generally labor rates are higher for brick wall labor.
• Door and Window frames fixing with z clamps
• Window lintels concrete
• Roof Concreting ( You need to pay extra for the concrete gang men in case of site mix. RMC does not cost you additional labor.
• Wall Plastering (Interior walls, Exterior wall and Ceiling Roof)
• Inside Loft and shelves concreting

What’s NOT part of the Civil Labor Rates:

• Markings
• Earth Work/ Excavation
• Balcony
• Flooring (Granite or Vitrified Tiles)
• Portico
• Outside Projections and Wall Cladding works.
• Staircase (Inside and Outside)
• Para foot wall
• Sump Tank (Generally charges per litre basis)
• Compound Wall and Plastering
• Fabrication Fixing (Gate, Security Grills etc, Railings etc..)
• External Concrete and finishing
• Roof waterproof muddy
• Concrete gang labor
• Scaffolding materials / Roofing

It is a better approach to ask a list of works NOT part of the labor rates. This helps in forecasting and avoiding last minute conflicts which may delay the project execution