People who are in the process of constructing their dream homes will be in a constant thought process on different ways of constrution. Some will be oriented to find ways to save on construction cost and some others will be thinking on where they can get the unique things which no one else has used so that he can show off to others no matter what the cost.
This post is for those who want to save some money, and who looks for lowering their construction cost by reducing the usage of wood. But when you are going to gain in the money front, you should also ensure that you are not losing too much on the quality front.
Wood as a major raw material
Traditionally Keralites use a lot of wood for construction and in the early years it was the major raw material for buildings, but then the supply of wood was abundant. As the supply went down and demand increased prices shooted up and people opted for different construction mechanisms which ensured that usage of wood is minimum and some times the alternate method was more strong than wood based mechanism. A good example is the building's roofs.
Even now most of the people spend a lot of money on wood which forms the primary raw material for doors and windows. One alternative which has come up is the aluminium and steel windows, but it has not been hugely popular since
1. Most of us have grown up seeing the traditionals thick frames of windows made of wood and we are resistant to changes.
2. People suspect that the strength of aluminium and steel windows are less compared to wooden counterparts.
An alternative which compensates for the above two shortfalls of aluminium and steel door and window frames is the usage of concrete doors and window frames.
A window frame of size 5ft x 5ft, including grills and three partitions will cost only 10% of the cost of the same window pane made of wood (Teak).
For door frames also the cost saving will be on these lines.
Some precautions need to be taken while selecting concrete doors and window frames which are listed below. Whatever mentioned here is my suggestion only and it is solely based on my usage of the same in my house and I am no technical expert in construction.
1. Integrated wood block for hinges and locks.
It is difficult to drill holes for screwing in nails in concrete frames. So for fixing the hinges and locks which is to be screwed tight, wooden blocks will be inserted the areas where these need to be fixed. These blocks will be inserted in the mould itself so that when the concrete hardens this forms an integral part of the system.
Normally good blocks are kept for hinges, but for the locks only small piece of wood is kept. One has to demand to keep a bigger block of wood so that he has the flexibility to fix the position of lock in a larger area and the small block of wood has the tendency to come out of the concrete.
2. Don't use concrete frames in areas which can come into regular contact with water directly or indirectly.
Paint tends to peel off. I did not use it for doors of bathrooms, but for bathroom venitilators I used concrete frames, thinking that since it is high up it will not come in direct contact with water. But my assumption proved wrong and the ventilator window's paint peeled off after 6 months or so. On a lighter note, now it looks like a different design
Same thing happened for door frame near the kitchen sink.
3. Where to use concrete frames and where to use wooden frames.
Wooden frames for
a. All the doors which had access to outside, I used wooden frames
b. All the window panes in drawing room, dining room,
c. Bathroom ventilators
d. Kitchen and Workarea doors
Concrete frames for
a. All the bedroom doors
b. All the bedroom windows.
For bathroom doors, plastic is the best. (I will write about it soon)
4. Painting of concrete frames
While painting, ensure that enough putty is applied so that the irregularities or imperfections of the surface are completely hidden. This will give is a more wood like appearance for those who loves wood.
5. Decide on what kind of Grill you want before ordering the concrete frame.
Specify the grill design that you want before moulding the concrete. Once the concrete frame is created you cannot simply put a new grill. Even if is a simple grill design ensure that cross bars are present for added protection. A typical concrete window view from inside my bedroom.
6. Carpenters opinion.
Will people ever agree to an option which will reduce their income. Just because of this reason carpenters will always give verdict agains the concrete frames since they stands a chance to lose the labour of making the wooden frame.
Reduce wood usage, Go Green, Protect the environment, Save hard earned money too !!!!
