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 behind an induction hob in a Frazer Town kitchen: substrate prep when the wall is existing tile and adhesive won't grip
A Frazer Town kitchen retrofit exposes why adhesive alone won't hold back-painted glass over existing tile. We walk through substrate prep, …
Pool-mosaic grout sealing in a Banashankari lap pool: the pre-monsoon protocol when chlorine meets Bangalore's pH 8.2 water
Bangalore's monsoon dilutes chlorine and raises grout porosity. The April sealing window—and why October timing fails—explained for architec…
Backlit feature wall in a north-facing Rajajinagar living room: why 6mm low-iron fluted glass needs a 200mm cavity, not 150mm, for even LED diffusion
A north-facing Rajajinagar living room shows why shallow cavities create LED hotspots on fluted glass. The fix: 200mm depth, not 150mm—and h…
Antique-mirror adhesive creep in Bangalore's hard-water steam shower: why epoxy-hybrid outlasts silicone when condensation and mineral deposit compound
Bangalore's hard water leaves mineral film on mirror surfaces. Silicone adhesive creeps under the weight. Here's why epoxy-hybrid adhesive h…
SmartGlass wiring in a Devanahalli home office: why the relay placement breaks the dimming spec when conduit runs through a structural beam
A Devanahalli home office's SmartGlass dimming cycle was delayed by electromagnetic interference from a structural steel beam. We traced the…
Frameless shower glass deflection under monsoon water pressure: why 10mm toughened meets code but 8mm fails at the niche corner in a Koramangala ensuite
Monsoon spray compounds deflection at the frameless corner joint. This spec deep-dive explains why 10mm toughened glass meets code at the ni…
Pergola glass thermal expansion in a west-facing Sarjapur Road courtyard: why the 5mm summer gap closes by October and the seasonal adjustment protocol
A 4-meter span of tinted pergola glass closes by 5mm between summer heat and monsoon cool. Why the gap matters, and when to adjust.
Floating glass shelves in a Whitefield dressing room: why the 320mm unsupported span fails under full load, and the bracket-spacing calculation architects revise on site
Shelf deflection isn't linear. A 320mm span holds 50% of load at 250mm but fails catastrophically at 320mm. This is the material-education p…
Back-painted glass backsplash on a curved wall in Frazer Town: substrate tolerance when the drywall curves 8mm over 1.2m
A Frazer Town curved-wall backsplash reveals why substrate flatness tolerance—not finish—is the critical spec when back-painted glass meets …
Frameless shower glass and monsoon seepage: when the joint line needs thicker sealant in a Hebbal ensuite
A Hebbal architect's as-built reveals the joint-line detail that stops monsoon spray: why frameless shower gaskets need thicker sealant when…
Feature wall textured glass in a north-facing JP Nagar living room: why fluted diffusion outperforms sandblasted under ambient monsoon light
In north-facing Bangalore living rooms, fluted glass preserves colour saturation where sandblasted glass flattens it. A technical look at li…
SmartGlass wiring through a partition in a Marathahalli home office: why the conduit placement breaks the dimming relay spec
A Marathahalli partition's conduit placement can break your dimming relay coordination. Here's how to write the electrical spec so the signa…
Backlit feature wall in an east-facing Hennur bedroom: why 8mm fluted glass needs a 220mm cavity, not the standard 150mm
A Hennur east-facing bedroom with a backlit fluted feature wall forced a cavity depth of 220mm instead of the standard 150mm. Here's why LED…
Pool-mosaic grout in a Kalyan Nagar lap pool: why epoxy-hybrid wins over standard silicone when chlorine meets Bangalore's pH 8.2 water
Bangalore's groundwater sits at pH 8.2. Add chlorine cycles and standard silicone grout fails in 18 months. Here's why epoxy-hybrid is the o…
Mirror in a Domlur steam shower: IP65 adhesive selection when condensation peaks at 95% RH every monsoon morning
A Domlur architect's six-month condensation audit reveals why adhesive selection matters as much as glass thickness when daily steam cycles …
Lacquered-glass wardrobe shutters under west-facing Hebbal afternoon light: why saturation fades by 4pm, not dusk
A west-facing wardrobe in Hebbal doesn't fade at dusk—it fades by 4pm. Here's why gloss matters more than colour when specifying lacquered g…
Pergola glass in a north-facing Rajajinagar courtyard: why 5mm tinted outperforms 8mm clear when diffusion loss matters more than heat gain
A north courtyard in Rajajinagar shows why tinted 5mm glass outperforms standard 8mm clear—the numbers on visible-light transmittance and so…
Glass-and-steel railing on a Sarjapur Road south-facing balcony: thermal expansion and the joint-gap tolerance at 45°C summer peak
Steel expands more than glass in Bangalore's 45°C summer peak. A Sarjapur south-facing railing demands a 5mm joint tolerance—not 4mm—to prev…