SELECTION OF WOOD FOR RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS

what are the woods commonly available in timber mart for construction works?

* TEAK WOOD(burma teak ,african teak ,ghana teak,colombian teak etc)

* PADAUKWOOD

* KINO WOOD/MERBAU IN HINDI(Vengai In tamil,)

* SALWOOD (called as kongu in tamil)

all the above woods are imported from other countries and sold in india for construction works

what are the woods available for construction which is grown in India?

#country teak

#Neem wood 

#Indian tulip tree/portia tree ( poovarsu maram in tamil ,bhendi in marathi also called as pacific rosewood)

etc

which is easily available imported or local timber?

Imported timbers are easily available,local timbers not easily available in market . if u want to buy local timbers you have to approach in villages .Timber farmers grow local timbers 

what wood to select and which one is good for doors and door shutters ?

Teak wood (burma teak) ; teak wood has natural oils, which protects the wood in hot summer to cold weather ,Teak is close grained wood. Teak can be cut very accurately and carving work can be done very easily .It is one of the durable wood .density of burma teak 700-800 kg/cum

Disadvantage of burma teak:
very costly 

burma teak

African teak ;grains is very good and attracting in nature  . grains gives rich look if varnished or PU coated ,but weight /density is less than burma teak .price is less than burma teak 

Disadvantage of african teak :

less density/weight

Ghana teak;
durable wood ,wood frames and shutters can be made,cheap in price

colombian teak;
shutters and frames can be made using colombian teak, It is white in colour and durable wood 

african,ghana colombian teaks are alternate teak for burma teak, burma teak is very costly and these teaks rate are lesser than burma teak rate.

PADAUK WOOD

It is reddish in colour,carpentors like this wood for its look and ease in workability  .Padauk is No grain pattern wood,In north tamilnadu it is widely used in construction for making doors,shutters and furnitures too due to its colour .carpentor too favours padauk for its nature to work easily.After sun exposure the colour  of wood changes to further dark .It is resistant to insects and termites 
It is durable wood .density of padauk 750 to 850 kg/cum

padauk wood

MERBAU(VENGAI WOOD)

It is very strong and heavy wood .density is around1000 to 1100kg/cum. It is tough for carpentors to work because of its hardness .It is widely used in south tamilnadu. priming needed it can not left as un coated 

vengai wood

SALWOOD (KONGU IN TAMIL)
strong durable wood ,density is 1100 to 1200 kg/cum.wooden frames will be done using salwood, shutters can not be done with salwood. The wood should be avoided in exteriors,as it tends to develop minor cracks(the cracks will not affect the durability of wood)
It is heavier and durable than teak wood, it is very durable against water, so bathroom frames can be done using salwood,carpentors feel difficult to work with salwood as it is heavier wood.The wood is cheaper than teak,padauk and vengai.ship builduing done using sal wood as it is warer resistant

country woods

Tamilnadu country  teak wood

country teak ; heavier and durable wood, light in colour density is more than burma teak 

poovarasu wood

called as poor mans teak ,durable wood , it is available in south tamilnadu,suitable for shutters and frames ,cheaper in price

NEEMWOOD

Termite proof and durable wood ,usage in exterior portion should be avoided as it tends to crack, frames can be built, shutters should be avoided 

I am in tight in budget which would be selected from imported woods?

for main door ; use colombian/ghana/african wood for door frames and shutters 
for bedroom doors ; use kongu frames for bedroom and use ready made flush doors
for windows ; use vengai/padauk for  frame and shutters 

I am in tight in budget which would be selected from country  woods?

Use tamilnadu country teak wood for doors and windows 

if poovarasu wood available it can be used for doors and windows 

What is seasoning and why it is very important?

Trees contain water (moisture) ,when it is made into log it starts emitting water .A seasoned wood is good and stronger than unseasoned wood .A unseasoned wood will bend and loose its stability,so for construction well seasoned timber should be used .

while Iam buying wood log from timber mart ,how can i know moisture is there in wood?

your engineer/ wood carpenter will tell you and will make a seasoning in site itself before starting the wood work

•  V.SUDHAKAR BE,MBA,LLB,AMIE,FIV
• CHARTERED AND PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER
• QVR INFRA CONSTRUCTION (OPC) PVT LTD 
• 9444991031

WHY MSAND IS BETTER THAN RIVER SAND

WHAT IS M -SAND ?
M sand  refers to Manufactured sand , it is artificially made by crushing boulders  into VSI crusher called as vertical shaft impact crusher which is fed into rotopactor to crush aggregate into sand and finally screening to remove  below 75micron particles ,which is very fine particle which do not hold good characteristic (holds more water which is not good for concrete or plastering works)

The manufactured sand classified into 4 categories same as river sand zone1 zone 2 zone 3 and zone 4 sand .

zone 1 and zone 2 sand should be used for concrete ,zone 2 zone 3 zone4 should be used for plastering, zone 1 zone 2 can be used for brick work masonry works 

What is reliability of Msand in construction industry?

Many  infrastructure projects completed using completely Msand , i personally used Msand in underground and elevated metro projects in chennai.pune mumbai expressway completed using Msand 

My engineer /mason says Msand is not good alternative to river sand(mostly said in residential projects)?

This is because they have not used actual Msand ,they used crushed sand which is airblown /water blown. It is  crusher sand which is sold in the name of Msand .crusher sand has more 75 micron particle which takes more water and gives adverse effect in concrete and plastering works  (poor strength ,cracks etc)

I want to construct my home / residential apartments using Msand how can I assure that Msand is VSI made ?

most of the contractors sell crusher sand in the name of msand, vsi made msand is available in market, first take samples from manufacturers and give the samples to quality/material engineers who is experienced in this field they will do test the samples and tell you which Msand is suitable for construction 

Msand should be rounded  particle , if it flaky and elonagted  it is not made of VSI crusher it will take more water which leads to poor quality of concrete or plaster

Which is more durable material river sand or Msand and how?

The answer is blindly MSAND,the river sand has excessive silt ,coal, bone,mica,shells,clay and other organic materials which is detrimental to concrete as well as steel

Msand dont have silt and other organic impurities which will give better durability than river sand

V.SUDHAKAR BE,MBA,LLB,AMIE,FIV
CHARTERED AND PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER
QVR INFRA CONSTRUCTION (OPC) PVT LTD 
9444991031

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OPC AND PPC CEMENT

 Difference between opc cement and ppc cement

OPC is ordinary portland cement ,where as ppc termed as portland pozzolona cement, in simple terms if we add pozzolona material into ordinary portland cement it is portland pozzolona cement 

Then what is pozzolona material ?

flyash from thermal powerplant, slag from steel plants , rice husk ash from rice industries etc were called pozzolona 

why pozzolona added to cement?

pozzolona materials added for different purpose and used according to project wise eg slag cement(slag ppc) used in specific areas where the soil has high sulphate content , in chennai elevated metro project (vannarapettai to wimco nagar) for piling works slag cement is used because of high sulphate content in soil. 

like wise in your building construction if the soil has high sulphate content using slag cement will be of good use 

why in market mostly ppc( flyash based cement )only we are getting?

Indian standards(IS) codes allows 35% replacement of  flyash in cement .The environmental factor and govt policy supports usage of flyash ,Due to above factors cement companies were producing mostly ppc(flyash based) cement

Advantages of ppc cement

* Low heat of hydration  means heat in cement will be less than opc
*Higher durability of concrete ,plastering ,brick work because of less voids
*workable concrete ,plaster due to fineness of pozzolona material 
*Better cohesion with aggregates 
*long term strength of ppc (after 90) days will be more than opc cement 
*environment friendly etc 

Disadvantages 

* Initial strength will be lesser than opc cement
* setting time will be more
*different type of ppc (slag,flyashbased ,rice husk etc) have different properties hence lay man can not use blindly.expert material/quality engineer  advice needed 

Note ;The cement brand is for image purpose only, not recommending any brand
V.SUDHAKAR BE,MBA,LLB,AMIE,FIV
CHARTERED AND PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER
QVR INFRA CONSTRUCTION (OPC) PVT LTD 
9444991031 

HOW TO MAKE YOUR INTERIOR COOLER BY ADOPTING BRICK MASONRY CALLED RAT TRAP BOND TECHNIQUE

HOW TO MAKE YOUR INTERIOR COOLER BY ADOPTING BRICK MASONRY CALLED RAT TRAP BOND TECHNIQUE 

Rat trap bond is a masonry technique  in which bricks are placed in vertical position instead of conventional horizontal position and thus creating a cavity  within the wall. The wall offers better  thermal efficiency than conventional  english and flemish bonds without compromising strength of the wall. Due to this formation of cavity considerable amount of brick and cement mortar will be saved ,in addition these cavity makes room cooler in summer and warmer in winter 

Bottom layer can be fully solid brick ie without cavity below window level and above window level the brick layer should be solid, lintel level also should be solid and the top layer also can be solid

Electrical pipes should be planned prior and concealed during construction for better interiors 

USING LIME IN PLASTERING OF WALLS IN RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS

USING LIME IN PLASTERING OF WALLS IN RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS

In olden days we used to plaster our homes using lime and sand ,now in modern days cement used for plastering walls .The cement tends to emit heat due to its nature. During summer heat in rooms is pathetic .To Counter this heat in house lime plastering is cheapest and good solution

Masons should be trained accordingly ,have to buy good hydraulic lime or blend of cement and lime plaster which is readily available

Make mix proportions for lime plaster  ,we can use lime plaster for masonry works too

The setting time of lime plaster will have delay process than cement plaster

V.SUDHAKAR BE,MBA,LLB
CHARTERED ENGINEER AND PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER
QVR INFRA CONSTRUCTION (OPC) PVT LTD
9444991031