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 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…
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.