Specifications

Types
1. General specification
2. Detailed specification
General specification
 It is a short description of different parts of the work,
specifying materials, proportions, qualities etc.
 General specifications are again divided based on the
type of building such as
I. First class building
II. Second class building
III. Third class building
IV. Fourth class building
1) General specification of first class building
 Foundation and plinth:
 I class brickwork in lime mortar or 1:6 cement mortar
over lime concrete or 1:4 :8 cement concrete.
 Damp Proof course:
 D.P.C Shall be 2.5cm thick cement concrete 1:11/2:3
mixed with one kg of impermo per bag of cement or
other standard water proofing materials as specified
and painted with two coats of bitumen
 Super structure: Super structure shall be of I class
brickwork with lime mortar or 1:6 cement mortar.
Lintels over doors and windows shall be of R.C.C.
 Flooring :
 Drawing room and dining room floors shall be of
mosaic(terrazo).
 Bathroom and W.C. floors and dado shall be of mosaic.
Floor of bedroom shall be colored and polished of 2.5cm
cement concrete over 7.5cm lime concrete.
 Floors of others shall be of 2.5cm cement concrete over
7.5cm lime concrete polished.
 Finishing:
 Inside and outside wall shall be of 12mm cement lime
plastered 1:1:6. Drawing, dining and bedroom-inside shall
be distempered and others inside white washed 3 coats.
 Outside shall be coloured snowcem washed two coats
over one coat of white wash.
 Doors and windows:
 Frames shall be seasoned teak wood, shutters shall be
teak wood 4.3 cm thick panelled glazed as required, with
additional wire gauge shutters.
 All fittings shall be of brass.
 Doors and windows shall be varnished or painted two
coats with high class enamel paint over one coat of
priming.
 Windows shall be provided with iron grating or grills.
 Miscellaneous:
 Rain water pipes of cast iron or of asbestos cement shall
be provided and finished painted.
 Building shall be provided with 1st class sanitary and water
fitting and electrical installations.
 1 meter wide 7.5cm thick C.C.1:3:6 apron shall be
provided all round the building.
 Roofing:
 Roof shall be of R.C.C slab with and insulation layer
and lime concrete terracing above, supported over
R.C.C beams or R.S. joists as required.
 Height of rooms shall not be less than 3.7m.
II) General specification of a second class
building
 Foundation and plinth: Foundation and plinth shall be of
I class brickwork with lime mortar over lime concrete.
 Damp Proof course:
 D.P.C Shall be 2cm thick cement concrete 1:2 mixed with
one kg of impermo per bag of cement or other standard
water proofing materials.
 Super structure:
 Super structure shall be of 2nd class brickwork with lime
mortar.
 Lintels over doors and windows shall be of R.B.
 Roofing:
 Roof shall be of R.B. slab with 7.5cm lime concrete
terracing above (or flat terraced roof supported over
wooden battens and beams, or jack arch roof).
 Verandah roof ma be of A.C sheet or Allahabad tiles.
 Flooring :
 Floors shall 2.5cm cement concrete over 7.5cm lime concrete.
 Verandah floor shall be of brick tile or flag stone over lime concrete,
finished cement painted.
 Finishing:
 Inside and outside wall shall be of 12mm cement mortar
plastered1:6. Ceiling shall be cement plastered 1:3. Inside shall be
white washed 3 coats.
 coloured wash two coat over one coat of white wash.
 Doors and windows:
 Frames shall be of R.C.C. Or well seasoned sal wood, shutters shall
be shisham wood or dedor wood 4cm thick, panelled glazed or
partly panelled and partly glazed as required, fitted with iron fittings.
 Doors and windows shall be painted two coats over one coat of
priming.
 Miscellaneous: Rain water pipes of cast iron finished painted.
Electrification and sanitary and water fittings may be provided if
required.
iii) General specification of third class building
 Foundation and plinth: Foundation and plinth shall be of
2nd class brickwork in lime mortar over kune concrete.
 Damp Proof course: D.P.C Shall be 2cm thick cement
mortar 1:2 mixed with tandard water proofing materials.
 Super structure: Super structure shall be of 2nd class
brickwork in mud mortar.
 Doors and windows opening shall be provided with arches
of 2nd class brickwork in lime mortar or with wooden
planks.
 Roofing: Roof shall be of mud mortar over tiles or bricks
or planks over wooden beams or of tile or G.I. sheet or
A.C. sheet sloping roof.
 Flooring : Floors shall be of brick on edge floor over
well rammed earth.
 Finishing: Inside and outside wall shall be plastered
with lime mortar and white washed three coats.
 Doors and windows: Frames shall be of sal wood,
shutters shall be chir mango or other country wood.
Doors and windows shall be painted over one coat of
priming.
II) General specification of a fourth class
building
 Foundation and super strucrture: Foundation and plinth
shall be of sun dried or kutcha bricks in mud mortar.
 Door and window opening shall be provided with arches of
2nd class brickwork in lime mortar or with wooden planks.
Inside and outside shall be waterproof mud plastered.
 Roofing: Roof shall be of tile roof over bamboo and
wooden support.
 Flooring: Floor shall be kutcha or earthen floor finished
with “Gobri”(Cowdung) washing.
 Doors and windows shutters shall be of chir or mango
wood.
Detailed specification
1. Earthwork in excavation in foundation:
• Foundation trenches shall be dug out to the exact width
of foundation concrete and the sides shall be vertical.
• If the soil is not good and does not permit vertical sides,
the sides should be sloped back or protected with timber
shoring.
• Excavated earth shall not be placed within 1m of the
edge of the trench.
• Finish of trench: The bottom of foundation trenches
shall be perfectly leveled both longitudinally and
transversely and the sides of the trench shall be
dressed perfectly vertical from bottom upto the least
thickness of loose concrete so that concrete may be
laid to exact width as per design.
 The bed of trench shall be lightly watered and rammed.
 Excess digging if done through mistake shall be filled with
concrete at the expense of contractor.
 Soft or defective spots shall be dug out and removed filled
wit concrete or stabilized soil.
 If rocks and boulders are found during excavation these
should be removed and the bed of the trenches shall be
levelled and made hard by consolidating the earth.
 Finds: any treasure and valuables or materials found
during the excavation shall be property of the government.
 Water in foundation: water if any accumulates in the
trench, should be pumped out without any extra
payment and necessary precautions shall be taken to
prevent surface water to enter into the trench.
 Trench filling: after the concrete has been laid
masonry has been constructed the remaining portion
of the trenches shall be filled up with earth in layers of
15cm and watered and well rammed.
 The earth filling should be free from rubbish and
refuse matters and all clods shall be broken before
filling.
 Measurement: the measurement of excavation is
done in cum or cuft as for rectangular trench bottom
width of concrete multiplied by the vertical depth of
foundation from ground level and multiplied by length
of trenches even if it might have excavated with the
sloping sides for the convenience.
 Rate shall be for complete work of 30m lead and
1.50m lift, including all tools and plants required for
the completion of work.
 For every extra lead of 30m and every extra lift of
1.5m separate extra rate is provided.
Cement concrete 1:2:4
 Materials:
 Aggregates shall be clean, dense, hard, sound, durable, non
absorbent and capable of developing good bond with mortar.
 Coarse aggregates shall be of hard broken stone of granite or
similar stone.
 The stone ballast shall be of 20cm size and all should be
retained in 5mm square mesh and well graded such that the
voids do not exceed 42%.
 Fine aggregates shall be of coarse sand consisting of hard,
sharp and angular grains and shall pass through screen of 5mm
square mesh.
 Sea sand shall not be used.
 Cement shall be fresh Portland cement of standard I.S.I
specification, and shall have the required tensile and
compressive stresses and fineness.
 Water shall be clean and free from alkaline and acid matters and
suitable for drinking purpose.
 Proportion:
 The proportion of concrete shall be 1:2:4 as
cement:sand:ballast by volume unless otherwise specified.
 Minimum compressive strength of concrete of 1:2:4
proportion shall be 140kg per sqm. On 7 days.
 Stone aggregate and sand shall be measured by volume
with boxes.
 Cement shall be measured as one bag of cement should
be considered as 1/30 cum.
 Size of measured box may be 30cmx30cmx38cm or
35cmx35cmx28cm equivalent to content of one bag of
cement.
 Mixing shall be machine mixing. For small work hand
mixing by batches may be allowed.
Hand mixing
 Mixing shall be done in masonry platform or sheet
iron tray.
 First two boxes of sand and one bag of cement shall
be mixed dry thoroughly and then this dry mix of
cement and sand shall be placed over a stack of 4
boxes of stone aggregate and the whole mixed dry
turning at least three times to have uniform mix.
 Water shall then be added slowly and gradually with
water can while being mixed to the required quantity
25 to30 liters per bag of cement, to give plastic mix of
the required workability and water cement ratio.
Machine mixing
 Stone ballast sand and cement shall be put into the
cement concrete mixer to have the required proportion.
 First four boxes of stone ballast and then two boxes of
sand and one bag of cement shall be put into the C.C
mixer.
 The machine shall then be revolved to mix materials dry
and then water shall be added gradually to the required
quantity, 25 to 30 liters per bag of cement to have the
required water cement ratio.
 The mixing should be thorough to have a plastic mix of
uniform colour.
 It requires 1.5 to 2 minutes rotation for thorough mixing.
slump
 A slump of 7.5cm to 10cm may be allowed for building
work and 3cm to 4cm for road work.
Formwork
 The inner surface of shuttering shall be oiled to
prevent concrete sticking to it.
 The base and formwork over which concrete to be
laid shall be watered before concrete is laid.
 Formwork should not be removed before 14 days in
general, side forms may be removed after 3 days cf
concreting.
 Formwork shall be removed slowly and carefully
without damaging or disturbing concrete.
Laying
 Concrete shall be laid gently in layers not exceeding 15cm and
compacted by pinning with roads and tamping wit wooden
tampers or with mechanical vibrating machine untill a dense
concrete is obtained.
 Over vibrating which will separate coarse aggregate from
concrete should be avoided.
 After removal of the formwork in due time the concrete surface
shall be free from honey combing, air holes or any other defect.
 Concrete shall be laid continuously, if laying is suspended for
rest or for the following day the end shall be sloped at an angle
of 30° and made rough for further jointing.
 When the work is resumed, the previous sloped portion shall be
roughened, cleaned and watered and a grout of neat cement
shall be applied and the fresh concrete shall be laid.
 For successive layer the upper layer shall be laid before the
lower has set.
Curing
 After about two hours of laying when concrete has
begun to harden, it shall be kept damp by covering
with wet gunny bags or wet sand for 24 hours.
 After that it shall be cured by flooding with water
making mud walls 7.5cm high or by covering with wet
sand or earth and kept damp continuously for 15
days.
 If specified curing may be done by covering concrete
with special type of waterproof paper as to prevent
water escaping or evaporationg.
3) Reinforced cement concrete
 Steel
 The bars shall be of mild steel or deformed steel of
standard specifications and shall be free from corrosion,
loose rust scales, oil, grease etc.
 The bar shall be round and capable of being bent without
fracture.
 Bars shall be hooked and bent accurately and placed in
position as per design and drawing and bound together
tight with 20 S.W.G. annealed steel wire at their point of
intersection.
 Joints in the bar should be avoided as far as possible,
when joints have to be made an overlap of 40 times the
diameter of bar shall be given with proper hooks at ends
and joints should be staggered.
 While concreting steel bars shall be given side and
bottom covers of concrete.
 The covers are 4cm to 5cm for beam and 1cm to 2cm
for slab.
 During laying and compacting of concrete the
reinforcing bars should not move from their position.
Centering and shuttering
 Centering and shuttering shall be made with timber or steel
plate close and tight to prevent leakage of mortar, with
necessary props, bracings and wedges, sufficiently strong
and stable and should not yield on laying concrete and
made in such a way that they can be slackened and
removed gradually without disturbing the concrete.
 A coat of oil washing should be applied over the shuttering
or paper should be spread to have a smooth and finished
surface and to prevent adherence of concrete.
 For slab and beam small camber should be given in
centering, 1cm per 2.5m, with a maximum of 4cm.
 Centering and shuttering should not be removed before 14
days in general (4 days for R.C.C column, 10 days for roof
slab, and 14 days for beams).
Proportion of cement concrete
 Cement concrete shall be of 1:2:4 proportion by
volume for slabs, beams and lintels and 1:1.5:3
proportion for columns unless otherwise specified.
Materials for concrete
 Cement, sand and coarse aggregate shall be same
as for cement concrete 1:2:4.
 The stone aggregate shall be 20mm to 6mm gauge
unless otherwise specified.
 For heavily reinforced concrete members as in the
case of ribs of main beams the maximum size of
aggregate should usually be restricted to 5mm less
than the minimum clear distance between the main
bars or 5m less than the minimum cover to
reinforcement which ever is smaller.
 Mixing is same as that of specified in Cement
concrete 1:2:4.
Laying
 Before laying the concrete the shuttering shall be
clean, free from dust, dirt and other foreign matters.
 In case of column and walls it is desirable to place
concrete in full height if practical so as to avoid
construction joints but the progress of concreting in
the vertical direction shall be restricted to one meter
per hour.
 Care should be taken that the time between mixing
and placing of concrete shall not exceed 20 minutes
so that the initial setting process is not interfered with.
 During winter the concreting shall not be done if
temperature falls below 4°C.
 Concrete shall be compacted by mechanical vibrating
machine until a dense concrete is obtained.
 The vibration shall continue during the entire period of
placing of concrete.
 Compaction shall be completed within 30 minutes of
addition of water to the dry mixture.
 Over vibration shall be avoided.
 After removal of the form work in due time, the
concrete surface shall be free form honey combing,
air holes or any other defect.
 If concrete is laid out in batches then same specification
shall be followed as that of in cement concrete1:2:4.
 Structure exceeding 45m in length shall be divided by one
or more expansion joints.
 Structure in which plan dimension changes abruptly shall
provide with expansion joints at the section where such
changes occur.
 Reinforcement shall not extend across an expansion joint
at the break between the sections shall be completed.
 Curing is done in same manner as that of done in cement
concrete 1:2:4.
Finishing
 If specified the exposed surface shall be plastered
with 1:3 cement sand mortar not exceeding 6mm
thickness and plastering shall be applied immediately
after removal of the centering.
 Immediately before applying the plaster the surface of
concrete shall be wetted and neat cement wash shall
be given.
Measurement
 Measurement shall be taken in cum for the finished
work and no deduction shall be made for the volume
of steel.
 Steel reinforcement shall be measured under a
separate item in quintal.
 Plastering if any shall not be included in
measurement.
 The rate of R.C.C. work shall be for the complete
work excluding steel but including centering and
shuttering and all tools and plants.
4) Damp proof course 2.5cm C.C 1:1.5 :3
 Materials
 D.P.C shall consist of cement, coarse and sand and stone
aggregate of 1:1.5:3 proportion with 2% of impermo or
cem-seal or Acco proof by weight of cement or other
standard water proofing compound (1kg per bag of
cement).
 It shall be applied at the plinth level in horizontal layer of
2.5cm thickness.
 The cement shall be fresh Portland cement of standard
specifications.
 The sand shall be clean, coarse of 5mm size and down ,
and the stone aggregate shall be hard and tough of 20mm
size well graded and free from dust and dirt.
Mixing
 Mixing shall be done in a masonry platform or in a
sheet iron tray in the proportion of 1:1.5:3 by
measuring with measuring boxes.
 The cement is first mixed with water proofing agent to
the required quantity and then mixed dry with the
sand in proper proportion of 1:1.5.
 The mix of cement and sand shall then be mixed dry
with stone aggregate to have the proportion of
1:1.5:3.
 Clean water shall then be added slowly and gradually
while being mixed, to the required quantity to give a
plastic mix of the required workable consistency.
Laying
 The level of surface of plinth shall be checked
longitudinally and transversely.
 The top of walls at damp proof course should be laid with
frogs of the brick downward.
 Side forms or shuttering of strong wooden batten of 2.5cm
thickness shall be fixed properly and firmly on both sides to
confine the concrete so that the shuttering does not get
disturbed during compaction.
 The inner surface of shuttering shall be oiled.
 The surface of wall shall be cleaned and the masonry shall
be wetted by watering before concrete is laid.
 After two hours of laying the surface of concrete shall be
made rough and chequered so as to form a key with the
wall above.
 The D.P.C shall be laid in continuation in one day
without any joints.
 Joints or breaks if unavoidable shall be given the the
sills of doors or openings.
 The joints shall be sloped and the sloped surface
shall e applied with neat cement wash just before
stating concreting on the following days.
 Shuttering may be removed after three days.
 On removal of shuttering the edges should become
smooth without any honey combing.
Curing
 The D.P.C shall be cured by watering and kept wet for
7 days and the construction of wall above may be
started.
 The surface shall be cleaned and wetted before
masonry is started.
Painting with asphalt
 Two coats of asphalt painting may be applied on the
upper surface of D.P.C, if specified.
 The first coat of half asphalt at 1.5kg per sq.m shall
be applied uniformly on the surface when the
concrete is dry and the painted surface is blinded
immediately with coarse sand and the surface is
tamped lightly.
 The second coat of hot asphalt at 1 kg per sq.m.
should then be applied uniformly and the surface is
immediately blinded with coarse sand and tamped
lightly.