Part of our guide to traditional village house construction across India.
Telangana’s village home ranges from the modest manduva illu to the gadi — the fortified manor of the Deccan with thick stone walls, a chavadi (hall) for gatherings and a courtyard shaded by the roof. Granite, lime and teak cope with brutal summers; small windows and thick walls keep rooms 8–10°C below the outside.
It belongs to the Deccan plateau: Nalgonda, Warangal, Karimnagar and the Nizamabad belt, and it was shaped by a climate of hot, semi-arid; 40°C summers, light rain. Below is everything a family needs before commissioning one today: what makes it what it is, the specifications we build to, the materials, how long it takes, what it costs, and how we modernise it without losing it.
What defines the gadi and manduva house
- Chavadi — a pillared hall off the entrance for guests and village business.
- Shaded inner court — smaller than coastal courts, often part-covered, to limit summer sun.
- Thick granite or brick walls — 18–24 in in a gadi, for thermal mass.
- Flat lime-concrete roof with parapet — usable for sleeping in summer.
- Carved teak entrance (darwaza) — the family’s status statement.
Specifications we build to
| Typical built-up area | 2,000–4,000 sq ft |
| Courtyard | 8–10 ft, part-shaded by a pergola or jaali |
| Wall | granite rubble or brick, 18–24 in, lime-plastered |
| Roof | Madras-terrace style lime concrete on teak, or tile over the verandahs |
| Floor | Tandur stone, Shahabad stone, red oxide |
| Openings | small, deep-set windows; jaali screens for airflow |
Materials
The materials are not decoration; they are why the house works in Telangana’s climate. We source locally wherever the original did.
- Granite rubble and dressed stone — the walls; quarried locally.
- Lime concrete and lime plaster — roof slab and finish.
- Teak and neem — joists, doors, chavadi columns.
- Tandur and Shahabad stone — floors.
- Jaali in stone or brick — shade without losing the breeze.
Time to build
A gadi and manduva house built by Zaga Urban typically takes 13–16 months from first meeting to handover, including design and approvals. The phases:
| Brief and plot study | 1 month |
| Design and structural | 2 months |
| Approvals | 1 month |
| Foundation and stone walls | 3–4 months |
| Roof slab and verandah tiles | 2 months |
| Finishes, jaalis, joinery | 3 months |
| Handover | 1 month |
What it costs
Indicative 2026 range: ₹2,600–5,000 per sq ft of built-up area, driven by the grade of timber and stone, the amount of carving or art, and the level of modern finishes inside. For an instant estimate try our construction cost calculator; for an exact, itemised quote, request a site visit.
Modern comfort, traditional house
We insulate the flat roof with lime-surkhi and a reflective topcoat, run services in the thick walls, add a modern kitchen and bathrooms, and often fit a courtyard mister for peak summer.
Why Zaga Urban
Traditional houses fail in modern hands for one reason: the architect who understands the style and the contractor who can build it are two different people, and the details fall between them. Zaga Urban is a design-and-build firm — our architects, structural engineers and site teams work under one roof, so the roof pitch, the drainage, the timber seasoning and the lime mix are decided once and built as drawn.
We are an award-winning construction, architecture and interior design company (Best Emerging Construction & Architecture Company, Global Brands Magazine 2024), founded by IIT and IIM alumni, and one design-and-build team that can deliver any of these 28 traditional village house styles, anywhere in India — from the gadi and manduva house to the thotti mane of coastal Karnataka — with the same team, the same engineering standards and a single accountable contract from first sketch to handover. Our thotti mane in Mangalore shows how we work: heritage plan, modern waterproofing, 16 months, on budget.
Want a number before you call? Use our free construction cost calculator, or book a free consultation and we will walk your plot with you.
Frequently asked questions
Will a flat lime roof leak?
A properly laid lime-concrete roof with a modern membrane and correct falls is dry for decades.
Why such small windows?
To keep the sun out; cross-ventilation comes from jaalis and the court, not from big glass.
Also known as: gadi (fortified manor), manduva illu, Deccani haveli with a chavadi.
Related reading: see our thotti mane plan, design and cost guide and the 30×40 thotti mane plan for how the courtyard idea works on a modern plot.