ENGINEERING ECONOMICS,

ESTIMATION & COSTING

Prof. [Link]
Asst. Professor
Civil Engineering Department
Sardar Patel College of Engineering

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 SPECIFICATIONS
• Specificationsdescribe the nature and the class of the work, materials to be
used in the work, workmanship etc. and is very important for the execution of
the work. The cost of a work depends much on the specifications.

Structur
e

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 SPECIFICATIONS

•Adetailed written document that outlines the exact

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 Purpose Of Giving
Specifications
•The cost of a unit quantity of work is governed by its
specifications.
• Specification of a work is required to describe the quality and
quantity of different materials required for a construction work
and is one of the essential contract documents.
•This also specifies the workmanship and the method of doing the
work. Thus specification of a work serves as a guide to a
supervising staff of a contractor as well as to the owner to execute
the work to their satisfaction.
•A work is carried out according to its specification and the
contractor is paid for the same. Any change in specification
changes the tendered rate.

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•As the rate of work is based on the specification, a
contractor can calculate the rates of various items of
works in tender with his procurement rates of materials
and labour. Thus tender rate without specification of
works is baseless, incomplete and invalid.
•Specification is necessary to specify the equipment tools
and plants to be engaged for a work and thus enables to
procure them beforehand.
• The necessity of specification is to verify and check the
strength of materials for a work involved in a project.

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 TYPES OF
SPECIFICATIONS
1. General or brief specifications
2. Detailed Specifications

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 GENERAL
SPECIFICATIONS
•In general specifications, nature and class of
works and names of materials that should be
used are described.
•Only a brief description of each and every item
is given. It is useful for estimating the project.
•The general specifications do not form a part of
contract document.

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 DETAILED
SPECIFICATIONS
•The detailed specifications form a part of a contract
document.
•They specify the qualities, quantities and proportions of
materials and the method of preparation and execution
for a particular item of works in a project.
•The detailed specifications of the different items of the
work are prepared separately and they describe what the
work should be and how they shall be executed.
•While writing the detailed specifications, the same
order sequence as the work is to be carried out is to be
maintained.
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Detailed specifications
consists of:
•General Provisions
•Standard Provisions
•Technical Provisions

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 General Provisions
Conditions of contract
 Depend on nature of work
 Relating to documents
General obligations of the contractor
Conditions relating to labour
Subletting, execution of work
 Measurement and payment
Default and non-completion settlement of
disputes and specific conditions etc..

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•Technical provisions
 Shows desired quality of final product
Details of inspection and test
 Deals with specifications of materials, workmanship, performance and
proprietary commodities

•Standard specifications
 Standardized format.
Lengthy process of wording will be avoided.
Saves time, labor and cost.
 Eg: earth work, brick work, etc. Can be used in Cpwd, , Railway dep

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 PRINCIPLES OF SPECIFICATIONS
WRITING
•Subject matter: The subject matter of the specification should
relate to the information required for the contractor after the
contract is given to him. The requirements which are to be
enforced only should be included in the specification.
•Grammar:All sentences should follow the rules of grammar.
•Abbreviations: Well known abbreviations in the building industry
should be used.
•Development of style: The main aim is to resent a clear picture of
facts. The style of arranging of ideas should be clear and brief.
•Selection of words: Suitable words in the desired meaning should
be used. Words having more than one meaning or unfamiliar
words shall not be used.

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•Accuracy: The information given in the specification should be
complete and correct. Information should not be repeated.
•Clearness: As far as possible the information should be clear. It
should state whether the contractor shall or shall not do. In fact the
parties, owner and contractor should follow the same sense.
•Brevity: Sentences should be short simple and concise. Straight
forward specification would be clearly understood by the persons
filling the tenders. The brevity is the essence of specifications.
•Practical limits & commercial sizes: The specification should be
framed within the practical limitation of the materials and
workman ship. It should not specify practical impossibilities. It
should specify the use of commercial sizes and pattern of
materials available in the market.
•Fairness: The specification should be fair and should not be
framed in such a way so as to throw all the risks on the shoulders
of the contractors. Likely hazards, difficulties should be specified
so as to give a clear picture of the work to the contractor. 27
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 Steps Involved In Specification
Writing
Earthwork excavation: Starting of work- Workmanship- excavated material-
protection to existing services-measurement.
Cement concrete for foundation: Mix proportion- cement mortar-
aggregates- mixing- placing- ramming- curing- measurement.
Random rubble masonry in CM (1:5): Properties of stones - dressing -
soaking in water - minimum and maximum of each course (layer) - mix
proportion - mortar thickness - workmanship bond stones - scaffolding -
measurements.
Coursed rubble masonry I sort in CM 1:5: Properties of stones - dressing -
soaking in water - height of each course - mix proportion - mortar thickness –
workmanship - bond stones - scaffolding measurements.

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Brickwork in CM 1:5: Properties of bricks - size of bricks - soaking in
water - mix proportion -- mortar thickness - workmanship - bond- placing -
scaffolding - measurements
RCC slab 12cm thick proportion (1:1.5:3): Mix proportion - cement - fine
aggregate - coarse aggregate - water - water cement ratio or slump - type of
reinforcement - centering - laying reinforcement- mixing - laying and
compaction -- finishing of exposed surfaces – measurement
RCC sunshade Proportion - cement - fine aggregate - coarse aggregate -
water cement ratio of slump - type of reinforcement - centering - fixing and
tying grills mixing— laying and compaction curing - finishing of exposed
surfaces - measurements.
Plastering with cement mortar 1:5: 12mm thick Preparation of surfaces to be
plastered - removal of existing mortar on the surface - watering - mix
proportion - plastering thickness - finishing - curing – measurement.
Pointing with cement mortar 1:3: Preparation of surface to be pointed -
removal of existing mortar watering - mix proportion - pointing type -
workmanship - mortar thickness -- finishing curing - measurement.

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Flooring with mosaic tiles Properties - cement mortar
(1:3) preparation of bedding with 12 cm thick - laying
tiles workmanship polishing - measurement.
Laying of stoneware pipes Excavation- pipe diameter-
preparing the surface with slope- joining the pipes
inspection- covering the surface- measurement.
Surface dressing over existing one Preparation of the
road surface - spreading the metal – rolling applying
binding material - Applying stone chips - rolling -
gradient - camber - seal coat – application- measurement.

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