Notes from the atelier
The Vetrova blog.
On glass, hardware, and the rooms we work in. Indian context, made to the millimetre.
Frameless shower enclosure over a sloped floor in a Hebbal villa: the 3-degree tolerance and why architects specify a linear drain instead
When a master ensuite sits on sloped terrain, frameless glass meets geometry. Here's how to spec the drain, reveal, and shop drawing that ke…
Antique-mirror frame joints in a Rajajinagar powder room: why the 2mm grout line shows water stain within six months
A 2mm grout joint between antique mirror and frame becomes a water-stain trap in Bangalore's June-September humidity. Here's what to specify…
Tinted-glass pergola in a Sarjapur Road east courtyard: visible-light transmittance vs. solar heat gain at 8am
An east-facing courtyard in Sarjapur Road catches 8am summer sun at 45 degrees. Tinted pergola glass must balance visual clarity against hea…
Frameless shower glass thickness in a Bellandur master ensuite: when 8mm toughened meets the monsoon-spray joint
A Bellandur ensuite in monsoon season teaches hard lessons about glass thickness. Here's what to specify in your frameless shower to outlast…
Back-painted glass backsplash in a Frazer Town kitchen: substrate prep when the wall is not drywall
Back-painted glass on masonry demands different substrate prep than drywall. Here's what changes when you specify for Bangalore's older cons…
Antique-mirror backsplash sealing for Bangalore hard water: the grout-line protocol architects specify before monsoon
Antique-mirror backsplash grout lines fail under Bangalore's hard water and monsoon humidity without sealing. Here's the pre-June protocol a…
Lacquered-glass wardrobe shutters under east light in a Whitefield bedroom: gloss level and the colour-shift handover
A lacquered-glass wardrobe shutter that reads deep teal under north light becomes violet under east-facing morning sun. The gloss level you …
Pergola glass panels in a Marathahalli courtyard: thermal expansion gap and the seasonal water-pooling risk
A Marathahalli courtyard pergola's thermal expansion gap narrows by summer—and rainwater pools in the joint line. Here's how to spec the gap…
Frameless glass partition between kitchen and dining in a Domlur open-plan: acoustic performance when a full wall isn't an option
A full-height frameless glass partition between kitchen and dining looks clean on plan. It won't block cooking noise. Here's what Bangalore …
Glass pool-fence railing for a Kalyan Nagar villa: when the NBC sphere rule conflicts with Bangalore's slope tolerance
When a villa's pool sits on a 1:6 slope, the 40mm sphere rule doesn't apply equally to both edges. Here's how we specify glass railings for …
SmartGlass dimming lag in a Hennur home office: why 3-second delay breaks focus and how to spec the user handover
A 3-second delay in smartglass dimming breaks focus work. Here's what architects need to specify and brief clients on to avoid post-handover…
Reflected ceiling plan for a backlit feature wall in a JP Nagar living room: the electrical rough-in architects forget
A backlit lacquered-glass feature wall demands its own electrical layer on the RCP—one most architects miss until drywall is already closed.
Glass balcony railing in a Bellandur high-rise: the wind-tunnel effect at the 12th floor and deflection under gust loading
At the 12th floor of a Bellandur tech-corridor high-rise, lateral wind pressure can exceed what NBC tables assume. Here's how to specify gla…
Staircase railing in a Jayanagar townhouse: when glass meets steel and the tolerance stacks
When glass meets steel on a tight Jayanagar staircase, tolerance stacks to 2mm. A guide to reading shop drawings, verifying site dimensions,…
Frameless glass partition between kitchen and dining in a Malleshwaram open-plan: the acoustic compromise and when to add a door
A fully frameless partition between kitchen and dining in Malleshwaram reads open but carries all cooking noise into the dining room. Here's…
Pool-mosaic grout and Bangalore's chlorine: the sealing protocol architects write into specs
Bangalore's hard water and chlorine chemistry demand a sealing specification that standard grout cannot survive. We detail the protocol.
Reflected ceiling plan for a backlit mirror: electrical rough-in coordination architects miss
A backlit mirror is not a mirror with a light behind it. It's a cavity, a chase, a transformer, and a joint line that must be coordinated wi…
Glass-and-steel railing for a Yelahanka balcony: wind-load testing, deflection under live load and the shop-drawing markup
Yelahanka's exposed balconies face seasonal wind. Architects must specify deflection limits, testing certificates and the frame-stiffening s…