Make your apartment ready to move in

Jagvir Goyal

There has been a preference for ready-to-move-in apartments these days and the demand for these is also very high. BUt in spite of the fact that these are called ready-to-move-in, a buyer , in fact, has to get   woodwork, fittings, paint job and other such work done before the apartment is actually fit to move in.  So, if you are in the process of finalising the deal for such an apartment then be prepared to spend extra amount on getting the following works completed: 

Fittings: Most of the builders don’t provide the wardrobes in  bedrooms  or modular kitchens in the apartments and just leave the space for these. These are the two main works that a buyer will need to get completed before moving in. Along with these usually the apartments don’t have wire mesh door provision. In most cases, aluminium doors and windows are provided with sliding glass doors. The buyer should go for sliding-type wire mesh doors for all balcony doors.  False ceilings is another trending addition that most homebuyers are opting for these days. However, the design of false ceiling should be chosen carefully by leaving the ceiling fan area untouched. 

Bathroom provisions: Provision of chinaware such as water closet and wash basin is done by the builder along with chromium plated (CP) fittings. The buyer should check the quality of CP fittings and wherever necessary, should replace the CP fittings with good quality fittings. In addition, missing provisions should be made in the bathrooms. These include provision of water jet to the WC seats, adding corner shelfs or towel racks, adding coat and hat hooks and any other missing fittings. Vanities are not provided below the wash basins and these can be got added by the buyer to create storage space for toiletries and towels.

Air conditioning: Builders adopt different options for air conditioning of the apartments. Some builders just provide the conduits in the walls while others provide the insulated copper piping too in the conduits. Third category provides the air conditioners also but they charge heftily by advertising that fully air conditioned apartments are being sold. It is preferable to get the air conditioners installed from the supplier itself in case copper piping has been provided in the conduits. Normally, free installation of air conditioners is offered by the supplier and one should make use of that offer. 

— The writer is former engineer-in-chief civil design & construction in a Punjab PSU