Housing
The Housing domain tests site selection, principles of house planning, building materials and basic services. Kerala-specific conditions - heavy monsoon, laterite soil, high water table, sloping plots - frequently appear in examples.
Site selection
Check soil bearing capacity, drainage, level and slope, access road, water availability, sunlight and wind direction, neighbourhood and legal title. Avoid low-lying flood-prone land, filled-up pits and sites near sewage or high-tension lines.
Principles of planning
Orientation (long axis east–west in hot-humid Kerala to reduce west sun), cross-ventilation, daylight, privacy, circulation without through-rooms, zoning of noisy and quiet areas, flexibility, economy and future expansion.
Building materials
Bricks, laterite blocks, cement, sand, coarse aggregate, steel, timber. Mortar binds; concrete is cement + sand + aggregate + water. Ratios such as 1:4 or 1:6 refer to cement:sand in mortar.
Services
Water supply and storage, sanitary fittings, drainage with a minimum slope, septic tank and soak pit, rainwater harvesting (mandatory in Kerala for new buildings), waste segregation.
Worked example. A plot slopes towards a road and floods each monsoon. Advise raising the plinth, providing a retaining wall and surface drains, harvesting roof water, and orienting bedrooms east while avoiding a west-facing veranda.
Traps. Ventilation is not just "having windows" - it needs inlet, outlet and cross flow; and soil type is not the same as drainage.