Clarifications / Replies by Vivechana
Constructions
1
Is GST included in the quoted price or billed separately?
If separate, can you estimate the total tax impact?
GST is not included in the quoted price. It will be billed separately.
The GST applicable on ₹ XXXXX.XX/- will work out to ₹XXXXXX.XX/-
2
What is the basis for the
₹XXXX.XX/sq.ft rate — Is it negotiable.
The total price comes much more than the budget considered.
The offer of ₹XXXX/sq.ft rate is arrived at based on the costing of the materials as specified in detail in Annexure A of our offer, transportation, and labour. It is slightly negotiable
The total price has exceeded your budget allocation due to the increased area of construction. The total price payable is not immediate and will be spread across the period of construction (i.e 9 months) as detailed in Annexure C of the offer
letter, and hence you can plan accordingly.
3
Are there any escalation clauses for material price increases during the project?
Yes, our agreement includes an escalation clause that comes into effect if the escalation of the procurement of building materials exceeds 10% of the prices as specified in Annexure-F of our offer letter.
In our experience in the past 8 years, we have seen the prices shooting up only during the Ukraine war in 2022. The escalation did not happen even during the COVID-19 epidemic outbreak in 2020.
In 2022, steel prices increased from ₹ 55,000 per tonne to ₹95,000 per tonne. The steel prices stabilised after a period of 6-8 months and we had sought the additional cost to the extent of our steel purchase during this critical period of 6-8
months only.
4
Are elevation images charged per revision or per view? Is there a bundled option?
The elevation image work is an outsourced function, and hence our charges are directly dependent on the outsourced vendor. The charges are on per per-view basis with allowances for 3 revisions.
There is no specific bundled option, but we will assure you of the best deal on this during the finalisation of the agreement
5
What additional costs should we expect for exclusions listed in Annexures B & E?
The following additional costs need to be provisioned by you:
a) Any Cladding work, aluminium or glass façade work, depending upon the specific architectural feature or enhanced elevation appeal.
b) Interior works or wood works
c) Any change in the plans, post-construction, involving any breakage of walls and reconstruction, etc.
6
What quality control measures do you follow during each construction phase?
We have laid proper guidelines for QC measures, and some of them are:
1)The Compression Strength of cement blocks procured is ensured from the supplier before procurement.
2)Cube Tests are conducted independently by us at an NABL-accredited laboratory during every roofing stage. This is apart from the cube tests conducted by the RMC supplier, for which one of our engineers is a witness during such tests conducted.
3)The RMC procurement is restricted to either UltraTech, Prism Johnson, Reinvent or Aparna Limited and we do not encourage any other supplier because of the quality issues. Similarly, all our suppliers are categorised properly by the Purchase Department, and we do not encourage any new suppliers without proper verifications & checks.
4)The batch of the cement procured is also checked for the date of manufacture & the expiry period.
5)Necessary quality reports are also obtained during the steel procurement from the steel manufacturer.
6)A dedicated site engineer will supervise the daily construction work, and the daily reporting is a properly documented and available for perusal at the site itself. There will be a separate Project Manager controlling about 4 sites, who also visits the site at least once a week to do the QC checks, apart from the visit by the Senior Management (GM & the Directors).
7)The column positions are necessarily done using a Total Station Survey for precise and accurate work. This is an outsourced function. No manual site markings are encouraged.
8)The structural consultant outsourced for all of our projects is Mr Prasanna Kumar of M/s. Smartminds Engineering Private Limited. He is a veteran in the industry and is an empanelled consultant for Sobha Limited, Purvankara Projects Limited, Karle Group, National Public Schools and has done iconic projects like 1MG Mall, Lulu Mall etc. The structural consultant team visits the site before any RMC pour happens to inspect whether the steel bar reinforcement work is in line with the drawings issued by them, failing which they will not issue the Structural Stability Certificate.
9)The waterproofing work is done only
by engaging approved applicators of either Dr Fixit or Fosroc.
7
Willyouprovidecubetestreports, stability certificates, and material test certificates?
Yes, we will provide them as a part of our quality assurance process.
The cube reports will shared at every stage of concreting by email / WhatsApp. At the time of handover of the project, all the original cube test reports will be provided along with Structural Stability certificate issued by the Structural Consultant apart from the material test certificates and as built drawings covering the detailed Architecture drawings,
Electrical Drawings, Plumbing Drawings.
8
How do you ensure waterproofing durability — do you conduct post- construction leak tests?
The water proofing chemicals are procured only from Dr. Fixit or Fosroc or from MYK Laticrete. The application is also outsourced to the approved applicators only.
Ponding test for water proofing is done for checking the leaks by flooding the surface with water for a set period, typically for 24 to 48 hours. The surface and the structures beneath the surface is inspected for any leakage, dampness, or dripping to identify defects in water proofing membrane before it is covered with a final finish.
For terrace, the final finish will be with screed concrete of an average thickness of 1.50” and with a slope gradient to ensure the rainwater flows into the drain pipes without any stagnation.
For bathrooms/toilets, the waterproofing will be done on the mother slab and the top slabs (Sunken Slabs) in the upper floors. For ground-floor bathrooms/toilets, the waterproofing will be done for top PCC surface.
The final finish for bathrooms/toilets and
Exposed balcony areas would be the tile flooring finish.
9a
How do you ensure waterproofing durability — do you conduct post- construction leak tests?
9a What will be the depth of the foundation The normal depth for foundation will be 6”.
The exact depth, however, will be ascertained by the Structural Consultant after inspection of the excavated earth for soil bearing capacity (SBC). He may insist on a detailed soil investigation report to be conducted if the property has been refilled and improperly compacted earth or if the property was initially a lake bed area, or if the soil is composed of soft & wet clay.
9b
Water proofing in bathrooms, ceiling etc. termite treatment on the woodworks,?
9b Water proofing in bathrooms, ceiling etc. termite treatment on the woodworks,?? Upper Floor Bathrooms: Water proofing chemical compound will be done on mother slab and the top slabs (Sunken Slabs). The final finish of flooring tiles will have slope gradient to ensure no water stagnation takes place and the water smoothly drains out through the floor drains. The Water proofing chemical compound will also be applied to the bathroom walls up to a height of 18”.
Ground Floor Bathrooms: Water proofing chemical compound will be done on the PCC bed. The final finish of flooring tiles will have slope gradient to ensure no water stagnation takes place and the water smoothly drains out through the floor drains. The Water proofing chemical compound will also be applied to the bathroom walls up to a height of 18”.
Ceiling: Normally, we do not recommend water proofing for ceilings expect the top most ceiling i.e., at the terrace level. There is no water stagnation in the internal ceilings except for the terrace level. However, if there is a specific requirement, we suggest for cement based chemical additives mixed into the concrete to make it waterproof with types including crystalline or plasticizing admixtures.
Termite Treatment:
Soil : Anti termite for soil will be done all around the perimeter of the property after the foundation stage to prevent termite infestation.
Wood Works: Anti termite chemical will be
applied (final spray method) to all wood works including door frames.
10
What about the lofts in the kitchens and bathroom. The water closer level must be same as the other rooms, and must be wall mounting type.
Lofts in Kitchens:
Our scope of works provides for the Lofts on any two sides. The loft width will be 2’. Loft In bathrooms:
Our scope of works provides for Loft on one side. We normally do not recommend lofts in the bathrooms as the sizes of the bathrooms are small compared to other rooms and some of the premium head showers cannot be fitted under such low heights. Also storage of any materials in the bathrooms will have the moisture and
steam effect on the materials stored.
11
Turukki on the roof, water flushing from the roof, exit pipes are they covered ?
Turukki / Churkki / Screed Concrete: Yes, it is included in our scope of works.
The final finish above the water proofing chemical undercoat will be with screed concrete of average thickness of 1.50” and with slope gradient to ensure the rain water flows into the drain pipes without
any stagnation.
12
How about curing of the roof, walls after plastering?
Curing of Roof:The shuttering & centring sheet supports will be removed after 21 days from the date of slab roofing. The water curing will be undertaken for 28 days. Paathi (பாதி) will be built as soon
as the roofing slab is cast to retain the water for curing purposes
Curing of walls after plastering: The curing of walls & ceilings after plastering is done for 7 to 8 days as per the standard recommended practice. Curing is done by spraying water for hose pipes for every 2
hours during the day time.
13
Do you offer a post-handover defect liability period or warranty after 1 year for leakage and structure..
Yes, Our scope of work includes the defect liability period (DLP) of 1 year apart from the warranties / guarantees of brought out items like motor, pump, solar water heater etc. This is also documented in the contract agreement vide clause 18(a), (b) in Page 7 of 9 under the head:
Remedy of Defects.
14
Are plumbing and electrical drawings be provided for ref. later
Yes, the plumbing and the electrical drawings will be provided at commencement of such stages of work for your approval and signature before undertaking the works. For that matter, all works at the site will be undertaken and completed as per the Good for Construction (GFC) drawings which will be issued to the site engineer after the client’s approval and signature on the drawings.
These drawings will also form a part of the
documents that will handed over during the handover stage.
15
What is the estimated total project duration from agreement signing to handover?
The estimated total project from the date of Bhoomi Puja to handover will be 12 months with a grace period of 3 months. This aspect is also written in the contract agreement on Page 3 under Clause 2. The delay in the release of stage payments will also affect the project completion/handover date. The Force Majeure conditions shall apply for any unforeseen conditions or any acts of God.
16
Are
there penalties or compensationclausesfordelays
caused by the contractor?
If there is delay even beyond the grace period of 3 months, the owner can
terminate the agreement and settle the
payments due to the contractor by
arriving at the cost of construction as on
that date based on the stage of
construction completed. If there is any
difference in the valuation of the
completed works, the Architect &
Structural Engineer’s report will be
obtained to arrive at the exact valuation.
This aspect is covered in the Agreement
under Clause 2 in Page 3.
17
Will you provide weekly or bi- weekly progress updates
Yes, the progress updates will be provided in the WhatsApp group formed exclusively for this project. The updates will include actual work progress pics / videos, details of work completed.
Also, the project will have 4 CCTV cameras positioned to view the site progress on a live streaming basis on the client’s / family mobiles. The CCTV cameras will be taken back during the handover stage.
Any instruction or suggestion during the work progress can be given by the client in the WhatsApp group. Any instruction or suggestion to the site engineer during the site visit by the client can be recorded in the site register kept at the site in the custody of the site engineer
18
Are buffer periods built into the schedule for weather or unforeseen issues?
The buffer periods are already built in the project duration period of 12 months. During the rainy season, the work scheduling will be altered so that the internal works like plastering, flooring etc will be taken up.
Major unforeseen issues like epidemic, strikes, lock outs etc will be out of our
control.
19
How do you coordinate with architects and structural engineerstoavoiddesign-amd construction related delays?
The structural consultant is associated with us for all our projects since past 8 years and the working relationship
between the two teams is excellent and
complement each other to ensure no
delays occur at the project execution
levels.
The request of stage based architectural
drawings are intimated well in advance to
the Architect and hence the design and
drawings are obtained much before a
particular stage of work.