A veteran civil engineer, who worked for the central government for many years, had associated in a few high-profile projects and adorned high-ranking posts. A few years after retiring, he decided to build a house for his elder son.
He had to design a 2000 sqft two-storey house on the roadside. He believed that the engineers around them weren’t good enough and wondered why anyone would give them money.
Meanwhile, his son was happy with the retried civil engineer’s plan. After completing the preliminary works, construction began on an auspicious day. The worker’s began removing earth which the father vowed was firm. According to him, the foundation of a building need not be wide. When the mason expressed his doubt, he explained that a sturdy foundation need depth and not width.
A 45 cm wide trench was built, which is a standard measurement for basement and rubble masonry was started. Meanwhile, the son mentioned about the car porch only after the walls of the ground floor was completed. The father had forgotten to add the car porch while drawing the plan. He soon instructed the workers to begin the construction of the car porch. Moreover, the father proved his talent by plastering the car porch at the same time as the rest of the house.
The walls, concreting, plastering, flooring and painting of the first floor soon got completed. An iron shutter was installed in the car porch, for additional safety, as it opens to the road.
The son was shocked when he tried to park his car in the car porch after the construction got over. The car would enter the porch; however, the doors couldn’t be opened. Besides, the backside of the car edged out by an inch.
His father consoled him by saying that there was no need to park the car inside the porch. The son agreed to this and parked his car in a tiny spot outside the compound wall.
The father and son were relieved that the car porch could be used to keep the kid’s old cycle, the former’s Vespa scooter and the car’s old tyres and other parts.
A house should be designed only after doing proper homework. The drawing should be shown to a few persons to ensure that they are foolproof. Moreover, experts should be hired to determine the width and depth of the foundation. You could also go and see the foundations of the nearby houses to understand how they have been built.
