Housing and You…Clay bricks and valuable space-saving tips

Jun 08, 2014 News

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By Leonard Gildarie
A few readers have been asking about clay bricks and their availability.
Good question. I have been asking the same thing. While growing up, I never did pay much attention to clay bricks, except that sometimes I would go over and help the neighbours wash their driveway. We had that kind of relationship back in the late ‘80s. Somehow, I always thought that those carefree days would have stayed forever.

The family is almost all gone now but the driveway has remained, seemingly, stronger than ever.
The family living there has not been doing the expected maintenance, but save for a few shoots of grass through the cracks, the driveway remains in top condition.
It is indeed sad. There was a clay brick factory in Canal Number Two, West Bank Demerara, back in the ‘80s but it is closed now.
Recently, sadly enough, we read that the factory is up for privatisation or rental by Government.
I have seen homes built with clay brick and have spoken with the owners.
For those who do not know about clay brick, it is basically red clay that is baked at high temperature. It is unbelievable how strong those bricks are.
Unfortunately, after the closure of that West Demerara factory, production of clay bricks seemed to have disappeared off the market. I know for a fact that BK International, a major contractor, and National Hardware, offered a concrete brick that looks like clay brick.
I do hope that someone can resuscitate that factory and start churning out the bricks once again. There are still quite a few homes and buildings that are made from clay bricks.
The readers asked about wrought iron availability in Guyana. I have seen it at Gafoors and I am quite sure that it is available in other hardware establishments. So are doors and windows. Almost every decent hardware store has them available.
This week, I want return to return to a topic I had written about before and which a few readers had asked us to touch on.
One of the biggest challenges facing first time homeowners is how to effectively utilize space.                                  Many grapple with placing a cumbersome wall-divider in the middle of the living area, immediately reducing valuable space. Then in the bedroom, more valuable space is taken up by those outdated closets that furniture makers insist are the thing in style.
While wall-dividers may have been great for 20 years ago, the reality is that people are now taking a harder look at what they would have spent, and in keeping with the current trends. Folks are opting for less furniture, more space, daring colours and windows that allow for more fresh air to pass through, instead of giving that closed-in, claustrophobic feel.
In a position now to understand how much extra space is critical to my sense of comfort, I thought it imperative to give a few tips from the experts to create space. Folks of limited finances and an unimaginative group of contractors are confining themselves to building one style of home. You can traipse around the country and bet that in any particular village, the design at the front, invariably, is different, with spindles higher or lower and some designs. But the remaining portions are the same.
My point is that in most homes, the kitchen does not have a wall separating that area from the living room.
What most folks do is place this humongous wooden partition to separate the two areas. That does a couple things. You have less space in your home; you are blocking precious breeze and from an interior decorator’s standpoint, it is a nightmare.
A recommended option may be backing your sofas to the kitchen and using the dining table to double as another ‘divider’.
You simply do not need the TV or stereo set on a wall-divider. More and more folks are facing their sofas to the walls and watching TV there. There are smaller pieces of furniture that can take the place of a wall-divider, in terms of appropriately situating your home entertainment system. Better yet, if you have a nice design idea of a piece that beautifully fits your equipment into a nearby wall, talk to your furniture man…he may give you some ideas.
Most new homeowners move in and then discover that they do not have storage areas. No sweat! My second bit of advice is more medium to long-term. More than likely you would not want to further clutter your kitchen and living room. Your options are the bedrooms and bathroom…that is if you have one inside the home. The most cost efficient ones that any decent carpenter or contractor can build should not take more than three feet from the bedroom wall and can rise to the ceiling with layers of shelves inside. I think that these space-saving cupboards are ideal for the smaller homes. But these small tips are only designed to address one of those niggling irritants that always crop up when you have just moved in.
If you have been following our past articles, we spoke of the need to plan carefully when building your home – where to put your TV, bedroom location, bathroom design, steps and storage were all discussed. So plan carefully.
Much love and enjoy your weekend. As per normal, please drop your comments and advice to gildarie@hotmail.com or call us at 2258491 or 682-1256.

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