THE JOURNAL
Practical Guides & Ideas
359 articles from the studio on practical guides & ideas.
Practical Guides & Ideas
Your First Year in a New Home: A Month-by-Month Maintenance Calendar for Kolkata
A month-by-month home maintenance calendar for Kolkata's first-year homeowners, covering post-monsoon checks, dry-season repairs, pre-monsoon sealing and services.
Practical Guides & Ideas
When to Repaint a Kolkata Home, and Why Humidity Changes the Answer
When to repaint a Kolkata home depends on humidity, not the calendar. Real repaint intervals, the Nov to Feb window, costs and damp warning signs.
Practical Guides & Ideas
Wall Dampness After the Monsoon: Diagnosing It Before You Repaint
Wall dampness after the monsoon in Kolkata: how to diagnose rising damp, leaks, penetrating damp and condensation properly before you repaint the wall.
Practical Guides & Ideas
Warranty Documents to Collect From Every Contractor and Vendor
The warranty documents every Kolkata homeowner should collect from contractors and vendors, trade by trade, when to collect each one, and how to tie them to payment.
Practical Guides & Ideas
Choosing Floor Tiles for a Kolkata Home: Slip, Size and Grout Realities
Choosing floor tiles for a Kolkata home: how to test wet slip resistance, pick the right tile size for your substrate, and specify grout that survives the monsoon.
Practical Guides & Ideas
The Site Visit Checklist Every Homeowner Should Run Weekly
A weekly site visit checklist for Kolkata homeowners: what to check at foundation, slab, waterproofing, services first fix and finishing, before it gets buried.
Practical Guides & Ideas
Pet-Friendly Flooring and Layout Choices for Kolkata Apartments
Pet-friendly flooring and layout for Kolkata apartments: which floors survive humidity and claws, how to detail grout and skirting, and where to plan feeding zones.
Practical Guides & Ideas
CCTV and Intercom Planning for an Independent House in Kolkata
CCTV and intercom planning for an independent house in Kolkata: camera placement, cabling, DVR location, intercom points and what to decide before plaster.
Practical Guides & Ideas
Home Security Design for a House That Stays Empty During Puja
Home security design for a Kolkata house that sits empty during Puja: boundary, doors, shutdown routine, cameras and lighting, from a New Town architecture studio.
Practical Guides & Ideas
Structured Wiring and Networking for a Work-From-Home Household
Structured wiring and networking for a work-from-home household in Kolkata: where the hub goes, how many data points per desk, timing against the fit-out, costs.
Practical Guides & Ideas
Composting and Wet Waste Planning for a Kolkata Household
Composting and wet waste planning for a Kolkata household: how to design kitchen bins, a sheltered composter corner, drainage and monsoon-proof segregation that lasts.
Practical Guides & Ideas
The Real Sequence of a Kolkata Self-Build, Month by Month
A month by month guide to the real sequence of a Kolkata self-build, from plot papers and feasibility through sanction, structure, services and final handover.
Practical Guides & Ideas
Buying a Plot in New Town or Rajarhat: What to Verify Before You Pay
Buying land in New Town or Rajarhat looks simple until the paperwork starts. Here's what we verify on every plot before a client signs, and why it matters before you build.
Practical Guides & Ideas
Corner Plot House Design in New Town: Using Two Road Frontages
Corner plot house design in New Town explained: how two road frontages change NKDA setbacks, elevation strategy, Vastu, and interior zoning, from Studio Contour.
Practical Guides & Ideas
How Much House Can You Build on a 3 Katha Plot in New Town?
A practical breakdown of how much home a 3 katha plot in New Town actually supports, covering FAR, setbacks, parking, and G+2 vs G+3 tradeoffs.
Practical Guides & Ideas
Soil Conditions in New Town and Rajarhat: What They Mean for Your Foundation
Soil conditions in New Town and Rajarhat mean reclaimed fill, soft clay, and a rising monsoon water table shape every foundation decision. Here's what that means for your build.
Practical Guides & Ideas
How to Evaluate a Plot in New Town or Rajarhat Before You Buy
A New Town / Rajarhat plot buyer's guide from Studio Contour: jurisdiction, Action Area zoning, setbacks, soil checks, and what to verify before you sign.
Practical Guides & Ideas
Adding a Floor to a Salt Lake House: What's Structurally Possible
Can your Salt Lake house structurally support another floor? A practical, Bidhannagar-rules-aware guide to structural checks, sanction process, costs, and timelines.
Practical Guides & Ideas
Modern House Elevation Designs in New Town Kolkata: 20 Real Examples
20 real modern house elevation examples for New Town Kolkata plots, with the NKDA rules, materials, and process that decide whether a design actually gets built.
Practical Guides & Ideas
Building on Filled-Up Land in New Town and Rajarhat: Design Precautions
New Town and Rajarhat sit on filled-up wetland, and that changes how foundations, drainage, and interiors need to be planned from day one.
Practical Guides & Ideas
Utility Area Design for Salt Lake Independent Houses
A practical guide to designing the utility area in Salt Lake independent houses, covering layout, plumbing, ventilation, and monsoon-proof materials that actually hold up.
Practical Guides & Ideas
Value Engineering a 3BHK Interior in New Town: The Line Items Worth Trimming
A New Town, Kolkata studio's line-by-line guide to trimming a 3BHK interior budget smartly, what to cut, what to protect, and why the difference matters over a full family life cycle.
Practical Guides & Ideas
Cheap Interior Upgrades That Look Expensive in a Salt Lake Flat
Cheap interior upgrades that transform a Salt Lake flat, from Studio Contour, the New Town studio with 330+ buildings delivered since 2014.
Practical Guides & Ideas
Cove Lighting Ideas for New Town Apartments
Cove lighting ideas built for New Town apartment ceiling heights, humidity and layouts, with what to specify, what it costs and how to plan it right.