Walls that talk

Here are some precautions and guidelines to finish the internal surfaces.

For starters, avoid painting your home during the monsoon or when humidity levels are high. Such conditions don't allow paint coats to dry up quickly. Moisture gets trapped between the surface and paint layers causing blistering. Ensure that surfaces to be painted are fully dry. Only for doing whitewashing and applying Snowcem, the surface need not be dry.

If painting the interior walls for the first time, apply simple white wash and leave alone for six months. This action will allow the plaster to dry fully prevent patches and spots later. It will be much better if this six-month period includes a monsoon. After six months, wash the walls fully to remove dirt, dust and flakes, preferably with sand paper so that all the lime wash is scrapped thoroughly. Otherwise, paint will not stick to the walls. Now, apply primers and paint of your choice and the results shall be excellent.

Pidilite has recently launched colour concentrates that produce high tint shades when mixed with white wash. So use these if you don’t want to see white walls in the initial months. Pidilite colors come in liquid form and are double effective than powder colours i.e. instead of 100 gm of powder only 50 gm of liquid concentrate is required. Take care that no ‘neel’ is added to the lime solution if using a colour concentrate. For more, read on:

White washing

Always choose fresh, unslaked, non-hydraulic lime. See that it is of class C category or Dehradun or Narnaul quality. To prepare solution, add water to lime and not lime to water. Add 5 litre water per kg of lime. The final solution should look like thin cream not water. Leave the mixture for at least 24 hours, preferably 48. Use 150 gm lime per sq metre of surface if one coat is to be done. For two coats, let it be 250 gm per sq metre. In a newly constructed house, at least three coats are recommended. However, as you are using whitewash temporarily, two coats are sufficient. Add an adhesive like DDL or SDL to the mixture at a rate of 4 kg per cu m of solution. Fevicol or gum can be the second option if DDL is not available. This will prevent whitewash from sticking to your clothes and body.

The solution: Add some ‘neel’, say 30 gm per 10 kg to the lime solution. It accentuates the whiteness and brings brightness. But the quantity of ‘neel’ must be restricted otherwise walls may give indigo reflection. For application of whitewash, use ‘moonj’ brushes. As a precautionary measure, tie gunny bags to the feet of ladders as their repeated pulling or shifting may leave marks on the floor. See that in each coat the brush passes every point four times — left to right and reverse; up to down and reverse.

Take your pick

For painting internal walls, choice is between distempers and emulsions. If you choose emulsions, there are extra premium acrylic, premium acrylic and acrylic ones to pick from. All acrylic emulsions are durable and give smooth finish to walls. You can choose glossy, semi-glossy or matt finish. Oil bound distempers too are durable, if applied the right way and economical in comparison to emulsions.

Dry distempering: If you are choosing dry distemper for internal walls, see that it is IS 427 marked. Dry distemper comes in powder form and has no resistance to water. It can’t be washed. About 1.5 litre water is added to 2.5 kg distemper. Use lukewarm water instead of cold, allow the solution to stand for at least 30 minutes, stir well and use. It will cost not more than Rs 1.25 per sqft. However, it has a short life. It has been seen that sometimes people do first coat of whitewash and then apply distemper. Don’t. Use a white chalk solution in water as primer to distemper. Dry distemper should give a coverage of about 6 sqm per kg of distemper for two coats. Mix DDL or Fevicol to dry distemper for better adhesion. Golden Champion and Goldy are good brands.

Oil bound distempering: Oil bound distemper (OBD) is washable, doesn’t come off on washing and scores over dry distemper. If you are choosing distemper, prefer OBD. It contains an emulsion of drying oil or varnish that resists water. See that it conforms to IS 428. Use thinned distemper itself as primer to OBD. Four parts of OBD are mixed with one of water to prepare its solution for application. Know that OBD shouldn’t be applied on new plaster for six months at least otherwise all its oils will be soaked by the plaster. However, if you can’t afford to wait, here is a solution. Get some ready mixed alkali resistant paint as per IS 109 and apply a coat of it. Now, you can do OBD after two days only. OBD shouldn’t come off 24 hours after its application. It will cost you around Rs 2 per sqft and give a coverage output of about 6 sqm per litre of paint for two coats. You need not mix DDL to OBD or plastic emulsion as these have a good grip.

Emulsions: If using plastic or acrylic emulsions on internal walls, add water in the first coat only. For quantity of water to be added, follow manufacturer’s guidelines. Choose plastic emulsion of a reputed brand such as Asian, Berger, ICI or Nerolac. IS 5411 mark for these paints stands withdrawn, so don’t look for it. Use manufacturer’s putty to repair the wall if required before application of plastic emulsion. Further, rub the wall with 180 number sand paper on drying up of putty and apply a coat of primer over it. On drying up of primer coat, sand paper with 320 number. Now, apply the final paint and you will receive excellent results. Tell the painter to clean all plastic emulsion drops from the floor immediately as it may become difficult to remove them later. The first coat will dry up in four-five hours. Plastic emulsion paint should give around 8 sqm coverage per litre of paint for two coats.

( Via The Tribune)

The basics of paint

Paint is one of the most versatile media to work with. But, before you use them in your home, it is essential to get the basics right.

What is paint?

It is a mixture of solid pigments (finely-ground particles) suspended in a liquid medium (water or mineral spirits) that dries to form a protective or decorative coating. Pigments are encapsulated by resins or binders which help attach them to the surface being painted and create the paint film.

All paints fall under two categories: water-based, commonly known as latex paint, and oil-based. The former includes all water-borne paints such as vinyl-acrylic, 100% acrylic and alkyd-modified latex. You can use latex paints both indoors or outdoors. Latex provides an excellent finish and is an easier paint to use. It can be cleaned with soap or water, dries quickly, has milder odours, is non-flammable, and easy to touch up. These environment-friendly paints allow moisture to evaporate through the film thus reducing blistering.

Inexpensive latex paints use softer vinyl-resins (binders) and more water in the formulation. More durable latex paints use 100% acrylic-resins and less water. The term enamel is normally associated with paints that have a glossy finish. These are formulated with higher concentrations of resin as they are used in areas subject to heavy wear and tear. Alkyd paints are more commonly used for areas prone to impact and high wear and tear such as floors or cabinets. These paints take a long time to dry, so they do not show brush strokes as much. But they are more expensive and odour-intensive when drying.

Interior paints can be grouped into two categories:

Distempers: These are traditional economy paints which produce a perfectly satisfactory finish with good workmanship. However, their life cycle is shorter. Dry distempers (which are available in powder form) and oil-bound/synthetic distempers are not washable. Acrylic distempers, being partly based on acrylic resins, give greater smoothness and are washable.

Emulsions: Also known as plastic paints, these are based on a fine dispersion of resin in a solvent, which on drying, creates a remarkably tough, adherent and durable coating. Special additives in emulsions give them an incomparably smooth finish in various shades that last for years. These are resistant to water, chemical, fungus and algae. They come in three categories: silk—premium acrylic emulsions, with silky smoothness and a luxurious silk-like finish; regular—they produce a smooth eggshell finish; and economy—a generation ahead of distempers, they are more durable, washable, fade-resistant and smooth.

Exterior paints

Emulsions are good to be used on the exterior as they contain high acrylic content which gives them a long lifespan. Special additives also make them exceptionally resistant to algae, fungus and atmospheric erosion. Other popular choices are cement paints and textured plasters.

Cement paints come with a weather-resistant coating that is considerably effective. The coating contains special additives that are equipped to deal with the rigours of the external environment. Textured plasters are emulsion-based and provide even stronger protection than silk emulsions, besides unique visual appeal. Their thick surface can be designer-patterned by sponging, stippling or with the help of patterned rollers. They are also washable.

Levels of gloss

The sheen, or gloss, of paint refers to the amount of light reflected by its surface. There are four basic sheens:

• Flat paints exhibit non-reflective properties, providing a matte finish that helps hide surface imperfections. It is normally used for ceilings and walls in areas less prone to wear and tear, such as dining and living rooms.

• Satin finish paints are used to create soft lustre. A satin finish provides a harder surface finish, which is more durable and more stain-resistant than a flat finish.

• Semi-gloss paints are more durable, easier to clean and more stain-resistant than satin-finish paints.

• Gloss paint has a harder, more durable and more stain-resistant finish. It is easier to clean than all other paint finishes.

How to make flour paint

Do you remember making paper mache at home or in school? What about homemade piñatas? The process of making flour paint isn’t much different, so grab a bag of flour from the kitchen cupboard and get ready!

You will need:
Natural pigment, like clay pigment
Fine sand, silica, quartz or marble dust
A friend
Paint brushes and buckets, and if you’re feeling especially creative, trowels, squeegees and any other improvised tool you think would leave a nice pattern on your walls.

First:
In a large bowl, mix 2 cups flour with 4 cups water, whisking out any lumps.

Then:
In a large saucepan, boil 3 cups water.
Slowly stir in the mixture from the first step.
Reduce heat and stir until the “sauce” thickens.
Finally:
Remove from heat and slowly stir in 2 or 3 more cups of water.
In a separate bowl, stir together dry fillers/pigments and add to the main flour paste. Add more water if needed, to make a paint-like consistency.

You can loosely mix 2 colors if you want to get a faux effect, but test an area first with a sample batch, to practice. You can also add mica, limestone, marble or chalk for different colors and effects. Make sure the colors you use will work together. Consult a color wheel or designer, or find something you like in a magazine!

The important thing is to have the right consistency of the paint. It should flow smoothly off the brush, but not sag or drip. I often use it while it’s still warm, but it will keep for a week or two if you seal the container tightly.

Flour paint is often too thick for use with a roller, but you can use a roller to spread it over the wall, then even it out with the trowel or brush. There are also special texture rollers that are stiff enough to use with flour paint.

After the first coat, the brush marks may be obvious, but you can smooth these out after it’s started to dry by using a clean, damp brush. Personally, I like the texture. After the second coat, troweling the surface when the paint has half-dried can reveal marble, mica or other colors underneath. You can also spot-sand when fully dry. Again, try a sample area first, and don’t worry; sometimes the best results come from happy accidents! Besides you can always add additional coats, which creates more texture, depth and opportunity to reveal underlying colors. If you’re feeling uncertain, just roll it out smooth and leave it solid. Happy painting!

5 reasons architects are worth the money to redo your home

If you're like most homeowners, you probably dream of one day completing a major home-remodeling project. And I'm not talking about retiling a tub here. This is the once-in-a-lifetime renovation—the kind that dramatically changes how you live, energizes the entire household, and makes all the neighbors really jealous.

Perhaps your dream is to build a two-story addition with a family room below and a master bedroom and bath above. Or maybe you've always wanted to expand the kitchen and install French doors leading to a wraparound deck. Regardless of what your dream entails, all major remodeling projects can benefit from the expert design help of an experienced, licensed architect.

I know what you're thinking: Architects are way too expensive and only necessary when building multimillion-dollar homes—and last week's economic roller coaster isn't helping any. The truth is, architects are well worth the extra cost on large remodeling jobs because with thoughtful evaluation and design, they can meet—and often exceed—your expectations. In fact, depending on the size or complexity of the remodeling, calling in an architect might be the only way to get the project off the ground, and to ensure your dream comes true. Here's why you consider taking the plunge if you're gung ho about a large-scale redux on the house.

1. To See the Big Picture

An architect has the training and skill to produce a detailed design based on your particular needs and desires—a design that's sensitive to the architecture of your existing home, and scaled to the proper proportions. However, what truly makes an architect valuable is the ability to develop and refine a vision of the completed project that you can see and understand. And architects are experts at seeing not only the big picture, but also the hundreds of tiny steps between concept and completion.

After the initial consultation, and once you and the architect have defined the scope, features, purpose and functionality of the project, the architect will develop a set of preliminary drawings, sometimes called schematics. These drawings are just the first of many that you should expect to see.

"It's important for the architect to spell out in advance what each set of drawings will include," says Richard Hayes, architect and managing director of the American Institute of Architects. And don't be concerned if the preliminary drawings seem lacking, because each subsequent set will contain more and more detail, including written specifications. In fact, Hayes recommends asking the architect to show you a final set of drawings from a recently completed job, just to give you an idea of what to expect at the end of the design phase.

But before you settle on a candidate, carefully consider the firm's past designs and gauge whether its vision for your house meshes with your own. If you want to incorporate salvaged stained glass windows and antique brass doorknobs, for instance, don't choose the architect whose past work features floating drywall over recessed fluorescents.

2. To Handle the Paperwork

When most of us think of an architect-designed project, we envision the aesthetics of the building: its size, shape and finished surfaces. But behind the pretty face are the skeletal bones of the building. It's the architect's job to design the project to satisfy building codes and meet specific structural demands. And striking that balance between aesthetic beauty and structural safety is no easy feat—it requires a vast knowledge of various building materials and construction techniques. Hiring a pro makes sure your renovation plays by the rules.

"A good architect knows the building code, and alternative ways to solving structural problems," explains Marc Olivieri, a Connecticut construction manager. "Architects also prepare most of the documentation necessary to acquire all the various building permits." And those services can ultimately save you time and money.

3. To Hire the Muscle

No one understands the design of your project better than the architect, which is why he or she is the perfect person to coordinate the various construction professionals before the work starts in earnest. For example, an architect will meet with structural engineers or HVAC mechanics prior to construction to discuss the design, answer questions and ensure everyone knows their job.

The architects' plans make all the difference in translating your dreams to the details a contractor needs. If a problem should arise—which often happens—the plans will act as a record of what should have been done, and the architect will find a solution without compromising the design, your needs or your wallet.

4. To Oversee the Job

Once the design phase is completed, you can decide how involved the architect is in the actual day-to-day construction of the project—if at all. You can hire an architect just to design the project and create all the necessary drawings, and that's it. He or she then has no further involvement. However, for an additional fee, some architects will manage the project by hiring subcontractors, establishing the work schedule and confirming that all work is done properly and according to the final plan.

Another common practice is called Contract Administration, or "CA" for short. "When you sign a CA," explains Hayes, "the architect will check in on the construction from time to time to answer questions and ascertain if work is adhering to the intent of the design."

A third level of supervision is available through design-build firms. These one-stop shops will design and build your project, providing supervision throughout every phase of construction, including hiring subcontractors. This option also saves you the trouble of negotiating and signing two contracts—one with an architect and another with the contractor. But be aware that some design-build firms employ home designers, not certified architects.

It's also important that you be involved during the construction process, even if it's just to consult with the architect from time to time. That way, you'll be able to express your concerns as the project takes shape. "Working with an architect is a bit of a balancing act," says Olivieri. "You want to make sure your needs and desires are satisfied, but without surrendering all control to the architect when changes or refinements to the design are necessary."

5. To Go Green

More and more architects are starting to design buildings that are environmentally sensitive to both the planet and the homeowner. Considering sustainability in concept and construction will ensure your investment lasts a long time, limits its consumption and saves you money through efficient design.

The options available vary widely depending on the experience of the architectural firm and the circumstances of your project. Even if you're not plunging into a photovoltaic array or a backyard wind farm, smart choices can make significant, smaller gains. Consider using recycled and nontoxic materials, solar or passive water heaters, efficient insulation and a trustworthy thermostat. Because many of these measures involve whole-house systems, it's critical to plan them in advance.

For more information about green architecture, visit the American Institute of Architects' Sustainability Resource Center and the U.S. Green Building Council.

(Via Popular Mechanics)

Paint and drywall

Tim Carter, of http://AsktheBuilder.com, tells you how to paint and seal your new drywall with great products and technique.

What does each basic ingredient of paint do?

PIGMENT:

1. Provides color.
2. Provides coverage.
3. Protects binder from weathering (i.e. UVA)
4. Some types of pigment control gloss.

BINDER:

1. Holds pigment together when in dry film form.
2. Acts as a 'vehicle' that carries pigment when applied.
3. Type determines durability of end product.
4. Provides adhesion to the surface to which it is applied.

THINNER:

1. Combines with pigment and binder to control consistency.
2. Plays a roll in film drying.

ADDITIVES:

1. Help control application properties (brush, roll, spray, etc.)
2. Help some product formulations dry
3. Aid in pigment dispersion in manufacturing.
4. Aid in pigment dispersion when adding liquid colorant.
5. Determine various film formation properties.