Sunday 3 April 2016

Develop your Courtyard

                                         DEVELOP YOUR COURT YARD

                                                          


Courtyards have begun to get better attention these days as more and more luxury cars are being parked on the porches.  People today spend on their courtyard nearly as much as they do on their home floor. If the first impression is the best impression, then it is the courtyard that a visitor notices before he or she takes note of the elegance of your home. It will not be an exaggeration to say that interlocked precast concrete paving blocks have become the order of the day in designing courtyards. 

There was a time when people blindly concreted their courtyards in a misplaced zest for keeping their porticos clean and free of sand and dust. But it did not take long for them to realize that concrete did not allow rain water to go into the earth. Then came different types of tiles for experiment. But their propensity for fungus formation did not give them a lasting impression in the minds of people. The interlocking blocks were introduced a few years ago as a solution to the worries of people about keeping their courtyards not only neat and tidy but hard and sturdy as well. 

These blocks have several advantages over conventional paving methods. They can be paved quickly; their sturdiness is rarely called in question; they come in any shape and design of choice; they emit less heat; they are relatively cost effective; and, above all, they let water go down. But the paving has to be done according to specifications. The ground surface should also be given a slope, along with leaving enough gaps in the blocks. For best performance interlocking blocks should be paved on even and hard surfaces after spreading a two inch layer of sand or quarry powder. 

Baby metal is the best material to spread on the ground before paving the blocs because baby metal sucks in water more easily than quarry powder. Of late, there has been an increase in awareness among people about the importance of not losing rainwater. We should think carefully before deciding what to do with our courtyards.

The sturdiness of the blocks depends on the quality of their production. Blocks made with hydraulic pressing have been found sturdier than those made with conventional methods.

In States like Tamil Nadu, people use bright colours such as yellow or orange for courtyards. Designer blocks are the latest in interlocking pavement. Interlocking blocks of fairly good quality cost Rs.25 per square foot. For designer blocks, the cost will be Rs.47. The disadvantages of interlocking blocks are that they become slippery if not cared for and their colours fade gradually. But fungus does not spread in interlocking blocks as in other pavements. The colour fading, he says, takes place only in cases of heavy use. There have been several cases where unscientific paving without leaving gaps led to water clogging because of people's ignorance about the interlocking blocks and their paving method.

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