Notes from the atelier
The Vetrova blog.
On glass, hardware, and the rooms we work in. Indian context, made to the millimetre.
Back-painted glass backsplash on a curved wall: substrate prep and adhesive tolerance when drywall isn't flat
Curved drywall looks elegant until back-painted glass adhesion fails mid-installation. Here's the substrate-prep and tolerance spec that pre…
SmartGlass wiring through a double-stud wall: the electrical coordination architects forget on a home-office partition
SmartGlass partitions require electrical rough-in planning that structural tolerances often override. Here's what architects miss, and how t…
Pool-mosaic grout-line width in a Hennur villa lap pool: why 3mm loses to 2mm under chlorine and seasonal water rise
Grout-line width on pool mosaics is often left to the tile contractor, but chlorine penetration and seasonal water-level fluctuation demand …
Brushed-stainless vs. matte-black hardware on a Koramangala frameless enclosure: corrosion resistance in Bangalore's water
Hardware finish choice is rarely treated as a durability spec on frameless showers. This material pairing explores why brushed stainless out…
Lacquered-glass wardrobe shutters under north light in Sadashivanagar: why colour saturation holds through the year
A Sadashivanagar north-facing bedroom gets consistent light but architects rarely test how lacquered-glass colour holds through annual UV cy…
Frameless shower without a threshold: the floor-plane coordination architects miss on a sloped substrate
Curbless showers in Bangalore homes often fail because architects don't coordinate the glass plane with the substrate fall. This walkthrough…
Frameless glass railing on a Bellandur balcony: when 12mm toughened meets the wind-tunnel effect at mid-rise height
High-rise balconies in Bellandur experience wind pressure that standard deflection calculations miss. This structural deep-dive examines how…
Tinted-glass pergola in a west-facing Sarjapur courtyard: SHGC vs. visible-light transmittance when afternoon heat meets design intent
Architects often conflate SHGC with visible-light transmittance when specifying tinted pergola glass. A west-facing Sarjapur courtyard revea…
Acid-etched glass vs. sandblasted: which diffusion finish survives Bangalore's monsoon spray on a feature wall
A textured glass feature wall in Bangalore must survive six months of monsoon spray and hard-water TDS. We compare acid-etched and sandblast…
Frameless pivot shower door swing radius in a 750mm niche at Yelahanka: why the 45-degree arc traps your toilet clearance
A frameless pivot door in a tight niche isn't just about glass thickness—the arc of swing eats into the toilet zone. This spec note maps the…
LED-backlit mirror in a Jayanagar powder room: why the RCP placement breaks the electrical rough-in on site
A reflected ceiling plan that shows the mirror but not the electrical feed creates a gap between design and build. Here's how to coordinate …
Pergola glass panel replacement in a Marathahalli courtyard: when thermal expansion cracks a 6mm panel and the retrofit spec
A courtyard pergola panel fractured under thermal shock. The retrofit spec calls for 8mm toughened glass and a 15mm expansion gap—here's why…
Back-painted glass backsplash in a Malleshwaram kitchen: substrate prep when the wall is tile, not drywall
When the kitchen wall is already tiled, specifying a back-painted glass backsplash requires substrate prep that drywall specs don't cover. H…
Lacquered-glass wardrobe shutters under east light in a Basavanagudi bedroom: why matte finish trumps gloss on morning glare
A gloss lacquered-glass wardrobe door in an east-facing Basavanagudi bedroom becomes a mirror at 6 a.m. Matte finishes solve this. Here's th…
Pool-mosaic glass tile waterline in a Sarjapur Road villa: grout selection when chlorine meets Bangalore's alkaline water
Standard epoxy grout fails where chlorine meets Bangalore's alkaline water. This material note compares three grout systems and the pre-hydr…
Backlit textured-glass feature wall in a Domlur powder room: why 12mm fluted glass requires a 200mm cavity, not 150mm
A Domlur powder room reveals why textured glass backlighting demands deeper cavities than architects assume—and what your RCP markup should …
Glass-and-steel railing deflection under load in a Bellandur high-rise balcony: when the 10mm spec isn't enough
A 12-floor balcony in Bellandur with two people leaning on the rail. The glass deflects. How much is safe? When does a 10mm spec fail the L/…
SmartGlass dimming in a Devanahalli home office: why gradual tint beats instant-on for focus and the spec that enforces it
Instant electrochromic tint disrupts concentration. Here's how to spec a dimming curve that keeps the user's eye calm, and why the electrica…