Damn! ContractorBhai.com is 4 months old

So How are we doing?

Not bad!

Check the graph of people who have been visiting us. It is very encouraging. Its been 4 months we launched. Last month( April 2012) more then 3000 people visited us.

Looking at statistics and sample data, most of the people who visited us were people who were looking for information related to Home Renovation.

Here are top 10 things we want to do for sure on ContractorBhai.com

1) Anyone who visits website should find some useful information.
2) Anyone who writes email or message to us, should get complete answer to query
3) Anyone who fills form for Free Estimate, must get helped.
4) Anyone who asks us to refer Contractor/Architect/Interior Designer will get best contacts.
5) We do not want to focus on selling service, instead we want to focus on interest of home owners
6) We want to promise little and outperform our promise. Honor what we say.
7) We want to focus on Quality. Stay small and lean.
8.) Keep away from corporate bullshit but at the sametime provide high quality customer experience.
9) Respect others. Stay open to criticisms
10) Have fun!

Thank you to all Home Owners who got in touch with us in last 4 months! Irrespective of whether you have given business or not, you have helped me and this project in growing stronger.

Keep in touch with us on facebook and twitter

Renovating Kitchen? Here are some Interior Design Ideas

Kitchen is one project in itself. Biggest challenge that needs to be solved effectively is that of spacing. Correct placement and planning makes even small kitchen very convenient place to do day to day work.

In most of the cities and towns of India, Vastu Shatra is given heavy importance while planning Interior of Kitchen. 9 out of 10 times kitchen plan is discussed with female member in the house. Lady of the house has stronger say in how kitchen gets designed. Things like dish self, oil pull out, ghar ganti (Mill) etc. Sink gets considered in planning.

Nowadays in modern kitchen, parallel kitchen, is in trend. Idea is, to have platform by two opposite walls. Until long long time we made our kitchen in L shape. However in L shaped kitchen, corner always gets under-utilised. Instead parallel kitchen allows you work with more freedom and space gets utilised effectively.

Where is vitrified Tiles made in India?

It comes form Morbi and Mehsana in Gujarat. In Rajasthan from Himmatnagar. All these factories are there. Johnson Tiles has it’s factory in Pen beside Mumbai. Kajaria Tiles is in Delhi. There are few of them in South.

Imported Vitrified Tiles are cheaper then the Indian brand like Johnson’s Tiles and  others. Why so?
Imported Vitrified Tiles you are talking about are made in China they are cheap. The reason for low cost is no different from lot of other China made stuff which comes for Cheap. There is a company called NIPCO, it makes products in China sells here for cheap
and have a very successful brand

1 Bedroom Kitchen from 1 Room Kitchen

When you have a home with separate living room, bedroom and a kitchen – you have 1 BHK or one Bedroom Hall Kitchen. You will find many homes specially old buildings in Mumbai with plan of 1 Room Kitchen ( sometimes also referred as 1 hall Kitchen) i.e a kitchen , Hall and no other room.

What is the difference between one bedroom hall kitchen and one Hall kitchen?

One good part is such plans come with bigger rooms. I know places where 1 Hall kitchen looks more spacious then 1 BHK. Anyways..So lets say you want to convert 1 Hall kitchen to 1 BHK.

Tips from Pune Architect and Civil Contractor

Mr. Ashish Sheth, from Pune, is an Architect by profession running business in the name “SAVVY Architects & Interior Designers” His company is executing all type of civil and interior works in Pune and nearby cities. Also read  “Interview with Ashish Sheth, Architect & Civil Consultant, Pune“. Ashish’s Cell # +91-9850810564

What are main concerns in mind of Home Owners when they meet Contractor or Interior Designer or Architect for the first time?
From my experiences in Pune and nearby area, Vastu shashtra gets lot of importance. Space matters. If you buy a 2bhk (Bedroom Hall Kitchen) flat in Pune you need 50 lakhs or more. People want the house space to get used properly. they want you to Plan things which take care of vastu. With Bungalows it is possbile to be flexible in planning. But with Flats/Apartments you have to be proactive and get best solution within given space. After working on all aspects including Orientation given by builder, Interior, Home Owners expectation, budget etc, we finalise budget.

Interior Designer in Mumbai or Pune

Yesterday one of our reader asked us on phone – How to choose Interior Designer in Mumbai ?

Nothing beats References. If someone from your family or friends is recommending you some Interior Designer then you should simply go for it. Interior Designers give the designs to the client which have worked well for them in past.

Home Renovation Tips for Flooring

Once again one of our reader asked about “home renovation tips for flooring in Pune“. We answered below points. Below points are applicable for any city or town across India. Except for labour cost rest of the items should not vary.

So you need to get flooring of your home renovated or repaired or replace

What are important things to check before hiring Contractor for flooring ?
Do you really need Interior Designer ?

Wardrobe Designs anyone? Mumbai Pune Delhi Bangalore?

One of the ContractorBhai.com reader from Pune asked us for suggestion on “Wardrobe Designs Bedroom Pune” Here’s what we suggested. These points very well apply for any city in India Mumbai Chennai Bangalore Delhi etc

Until few years back people used Iron wardrobes. Remember those Giant Godrej Storewell wardrobe. I still know people  who buy it, but not many. Trend is more towards Wooden Wardrobes. For valuables you can have small safe (Tijori) inside.

Interview with Ashish Sheth, Architect & Civil Consultant, Pune

Tell us something about your career?
I did B Arch (Bachelor of Architecture) from Abhinav College of Architecture Pune (BKPS College Of Architecture). B. Arch is a 5 years course. I was passionate about drawing and always wanted to make it part of my profession. In 1997, I did get in to Computer Engineering, but very soon left it to pursue Architecture.

When did you start working?
Even while I was studying, I started working on various projects. I designed Set for song in Devdas movie under Art Director, Nitin Desai. By the time I was in 4th Year, I was already getting projects from individual Home Owners.

As part of thesis, I designed a planned solution for a government project for Boat Club in Pimpri Chincwad, Pavana river. This was to increases tourism and at the same time not do harm to environment. I provided complete plan to Corporation and they actually executed it. Project was completed even before I finish my Graduation

After finishing B. Arch, I did job for a year. And then went independent to start my business with name “Savvy Architects & Interior Designers” . Company provides Architectural, Interior, Green Building Design Consultancy. we execute all type of civil and interior works, small apartment/flat or a big budget bungalow or a township etc.

Cost of Renovating a Flat in Mumbai

Home owners have lot of thoughts and concerns when they start thinking about Home Renovation. Of all the biggest one is “How much will it Cost?”

Frankly, there is no easy way to know exact numbers until you show your place to Contractor or Interior Designer, who works out a plan and then starts making Estimate.