Chapter-12: Specification

Definition of specification
• A contract document containing information regarding
the quality of material and workmanships (procedures)
for specified work.
• Thus, the drawings with the specification completely
define any civil structures for construction.
• Therefore, specification separately along with drawings
details is an essential part of all engineering contracts.
• Is a description/document/instructions/statement about
the quality of materials, workmanships, method &
procedures; & even precautions to be undertaken for a
particular work.
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• Is written instructions distinguishing or limiting, and
describing in details about the construction work to
be undertaken.
• Statement of giving clear and concise description of
the materials & labors to be employed in the
execution of work, & the method of construction &
its precautions are defined.
• Therefore, specification should be clear & concise
with description; and not contain any irrelevant
descriptions. Designer communicates his ideas,
thoughts & feelings for standard construction to the
members of the construction team.
• e.g. instructions given in the answer sheet of exam
copy, operation manuals of laptop, calculator etc.

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 12.1 Purpose of Specification
i. To avoid lengthy description in the BOQ
ii. To avoid big captions or details in the drawings
details.
iii. To quote or put bidder/contractor own correct rate
with rate analysis (items rate of each items).
iv. To serve as a contract document between the owner
& contractor describing their responsibilities and
risk during execution of the work.
v. To guide supervisors or consultant for supervision
of each work to get needed standardization &
quality of work.

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iv. To serve as a guide to supervisors for fabricating,
installation, and to check quality of purchase materials,
and equipment.
v. To publish or present the intention of engineers or
architects to the contractors so that his needs are
satisfied.
vi. To serve as a guide to manufacturing agencies or
contractors showing all the details about tools, plants &
equipment, materials to be required for the work, thus
contractors enable to procure it before hand (execution).
vii. To serve as legal documents for legal action in the
courts in case of any disputes.

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 12.2 Types of Specification
Classified as;
A. Brief specification/General specification
B. Detailed specification/ Particular specification
A. Brief specification/ General specification
• Short description about the construction work to be
performed & materials to be used. Designer prefers to
give in brief (shortly) about specification of the work and
materials to be used that he designs for construction.
• Used by design team & the estimators for roughly
estimate of work.
• Does not form part of contract document since this is not
issued to the bidders.
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• e.g. load bearing two storied building of first class
brick work, Framed structure multistoried building of
first class brick work first class brick work for all
wall, Mosaic flooring, CGI roofing, wooden house of
two storied residential building, seasoned teak wood
for frames & shutters all fittings should be brass,
wooden surface shall be varnished with good polish.
B. Detailed specification/particular specification
• Written for each item as per bill of quantities (BOQ),
which specify the materials to be used, its quality,
workmanship, proportions, methods of layouts,
preparation, execution and the final result/ products to
be produced.
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• Written as far as possible in the same sequence of
order as the wok is carried out.
• Includes specification about materials i.e. physical
properties, strength, hardness, chemical properties
(acidic or basic, thermal behaviors), workmanship &
construction procedures.
• Is a part of contract document.
B.1 Standard specification
• Prepared & published by national standard
organization (PWD) which covers specific materials
or a groups of materials used by a specific trade or a
segment of construction industry.
• Include method of manufacture, installation, &
applications.
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• Indian Standard Institution (ISI) has prepared volumes of
specification for a wide variety of materials, method of
tests, code of practice for layout & also for installation.
Nepal Standard (NS)
e.g. Brick: NS 001/2035 ; IS 1077-1957 Cement: NS
049/2041; IS 269-1956; Sand: NS 051/2041; IS 383-1957
B.2 Manufacturer’s specification
• Known as product specification
• Manufacturers or producers of building products or
materials (bricks, tiles, toilet pan, cement, concrete
blocks, precast slab and beam, lintels) publish/prepared
by describing their quality level, purpose of use and
guidance to the person using them on the construction
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• Contain detail specification about the products,
guidelines for how to use product, method of handling &
storage of the product, instruction for installation.
• Adopt the products of standard manufacturers for quality.
e.g. Hindustan or Paryes for sanitary fittings,
Panchakanya TMT for steel bars; Khetan or Usha for
fans, electrical wiring as Nepal Cables or Janta Cables.
B.3 Performance specification
• Specially for machine parts & its performance.
• Performance of materials before & after they are used
into work is specified.
• Test requirements & test results, maintenance method,
frequency of maintenance required is specified.
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• e.g. impact of load on rubber before and after loading,
Impact of temp. variation on rubber on its performance,
performance of cables in cable cars for maintenance,
performance of airlines after certain flight hours for
maintenance.
Also, classified on the basic of the materials or method of
installation described or specified.
I. Open specification II. Restricted specification
III. Closed specification
I. Open specification
• Gives physical & chemical properties of the materials; but
it never gives a specified equipment or items or trade
names.
• Used for public works, for true
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e.g. Cement used should be of ordinary Portland cement
of any standardization.
II. Restricted specification
• Materials required is specified briefly & two or more
choices of the manufacturer or distributors are given to
use.
• Product name, manufacturer, trade name is specified
with choice for contractor.
e.g. Cement used should be of ordinary portland cement
of only NS trade mark.
III. Closed specification
• Particular type of material or products is mentioned
specifying the trade name or even sometimes the
particular distributors.
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• Has to be proved its adaptability in market with
respect to quality & price.
• Owner needs are fully satisfied as per design.
e.g. Cement used should be of ordinary portland cement
having NS of Hetauda cement.

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12.3 Specification for proper paragraphs/Inclusion
in specification paragraphs/ Steps of specification
paragraphs writing

• The proper sequence or steps to be followed while

writing/drafting the specification; which should have
in paragraphs format.

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 Mode of
measurements

Schedule, if
any

Clearing on
completion
Test, if any

Installation of
material
Preparation of work
prior to construction

Combination of
material

Specification of
material

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1. Specification of materials
• Specify main material to be used. E.g. for brick work
main material as brick, cement, sand, water.
• Quality of materials, tests required & tolerance limits
must be specified. For concrete, first specify cement ,
coarse aggregate, sand, water must be followed proper
sequence.
• If auxiliary materials required, it has to be listed & their
specification to be written. e.g. Water proofing
admixtures or any additives required for concrete should
be specified.
2. Combination of material
• Specify the combination of material as per
requirements.
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• i.e. 1:3 mortar as 1 part of cement with 3 part of sand;
1:2:4 concrete as 1 part of cement, 2 part of sand, & 4
part of aggregates.
• Specify batching by volume or weight; mixing in dry
condition & wet condition.
3. Preparation of work prior to construction.
• Preliminary work if requires which has to be specified.
e.g. preparing the surface as watertight for concrete &
mortar preparation; wetting of bricks for brick masonry,
wetting of stone for stone masonry.
4. Installation of materials/ use of materials
• Method of installation of all the important materials or
laying them should be written clearly; Temporary works
required, if any, for installation
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• e.g. at higher level i.e. > 1m. ht., all the masonry
work should be done by using steel scaffoldings.
5. Test, if any
• Test on material or on the whole work should be
written clearly, the expected result & acceptable
variance is written in the specification. i.e. 10%
variation in the compressive strength of concrete as
acceptable.
• Testing frequency ( per batch or lots or units) or
sampling procedure must also be mentioned.
6. Clearing on completion
• General clearing or special clearing if needed after
completion of item of works or the work should be
mentioned.
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• e.g. after painting, stains on glazed surface should be
removed with using chemical as per std.; stains on B/W
after plastering or RCC work should be removed as per
std.
7. Schedule, if any
• If any item requires some schedule or time interval to be
followed as per code provision; it should be mentioned
clearly. e.g. Plaster surface shall be kept damp for 14 days;
curing of concrete surface shall be kept/done at least for
21days.
8. Method of measurement
• The method of measurement details of each item to be
specified. e.g. The excavation quantity shall be measured
as per drawing details and actual work in m3 or ft3
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Technique of specification writing/ Specification
writing
• Must be written in separate paragraph form of each
heading or contents fulfilling given conditions or
techniques.
1. Specification language
• simple & clear, gives simple meanings; should not
need of special interpretation of any words or
sentences.
• Rules of grammar & same tense to be followed;
repetition of noun is preferred. i.e. avoid writing it for
cement; write cement as repetition of noun through
out the heading.
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2. Shortness
• As short as possible; if possible, avoid use of
conjunctions to make sentences i.e. but, and, or, that,
which, if, etc.
• Standard product should be specify by referring to the
relevant standard or code. i.e. First class brick work, grade
of concrete of M20, M25, M30.
3. No reasoning
• Not contain any reasoning for specifying any products,
items, materials; or not specified; it is the instruction to the
contractor.
4. Items to be covered
• As per sequence of items in the bill of quantities (BOQ)
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specify quality of materials & workmanships covering
all BOQ items.
5. Ambiguities
• Avoid as far as possible confused or double standard
or double meanings words. Drawings & specification
specifies the meanings in each item of works.
• M15 grade or 1:2:4 proportions;
• extra or additional or variation work; exceptionally
or adverse climatic condition, rainy condition,
unfavorable condition.
• Find the difference of: Guilty not leave him. Guilty,
not leave him. Guilty not, leave him.
6. Difficulty in achieving
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• Materials & workmanships which are not available, or
difficulty in achieving should not be specified.
• options & choices of the products in the market
availability to be specified.
e.g. crushed aggregates in the rural or remote areas; B/W
in the Kathmandu valley & tarai region to be specified;
stone masonry work in Pokhara or hilly region, Mud
mortar in the rural part of the Nepal to be specified.
7. No cross referring
• Cross references to section and paragraphs should be
avoided as far as possible.
e.g. as mentioned above, as tested per manual, previous
one should not be written.
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• When it is unavoidable; the title of specification, code
of practice, standards with clause number should be
referred.
8. Size & pattern
• Materials, parts, and components to be specified
should be of commercial in size & readily available in
the market.
• Standard & usual dimensions of the products only to
be specified. (i.e. tiles, toilet pan, wash basin, CGI
roofing, reinforced bars)
9. Fairness
• Fair to the all the parties i.e. contractor & employer.
• Not throw/provide all the risks (accidents, price
escalation) to the contractor alone.
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• All the possible risks, hazard should be described in
the specification with proper sharing of risks. e.g.
provide bonus for early completion, as well penalty
for delay completion of project work to the
contractor.
10. Completeness
• Give complete meaning to each item or whole work
with inclusion of proper paragraphs so that disputes
are minimized.
• No any legal complication in future during execution
of work.

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Use of international and local standards
• A detail narration or lengthy writing of requirement of
materials and workmanship, procedure is not
necessary if international and local standards, code of
practice are available.
• Strength of material (first class B/W; second class
B/W, grade of concrete M15, M20, M25); test results
and testing procedures need not be specified if they are
specified in international & local standards.
e.g. Mild steel reinforcement confirm to IS432-1960 and
IS 465-1962; factory/machine made bricks shall confirm
to NS; ordinary cement shall confirm to IS269-1975; fine
aggregates shall confirm to IS383-1963; standard mode
of measurement of building works IS1200-1965 shall
confirm for all measurement.
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Brick: NS 001/2035; IS 1077- 1957; Cement: NS 049/2041;
IS 269-1956; Sand: NS 051/2041: IS 383-1957.
Advantage of use of international & local standards
i. Save time of specification writer/ drafter & design cost
will be less.
ii. Uniformity in specifying quality of materials.
iii. Easy to control quality since supervisors are familiar
with standards.
iv. Easy to interpret & same interpretation each clauses of
standards.
v. Avoid the lengthy writing in specification paragraphs,
lesser will be mistake & ambiguity; therefore reduces
disputes & legal complications.

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Use of code of practice
• Various code or practice could be used to write the
specification of materials & workmanship.
• Code of practice avoid detail procedure as how to achieve
final results need not be written.
• Standard code of practice can be referred to: e.g. NBC
000: Requirement of state of the art design; NBC 101:
Materials specification; NBC 102: Unit weight of
material; NBC 103: Occupancy load; NBC 104 Wind
load; NBC 105: Seismic design load of buildings in
Nepal; NBC 107: Fire safety; NBC 110: Plain &
reinforced concrete; NBC 111: Steel; NBC 112: Timber;
National Building Code of Nepal-2058; IS Code of
practice for plain & reinforced concrete IS:456-2000; IS
code of practice for general construction in steel IS:800-
2007; IS National Building Code of India-1983.
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12.4 Importance of specification
i. Helps to control the quality of work stating quality
of material, workmanship, & method of execution;
& make the project (time, cost, quality) within the
tolerance.
ii. Guidelines to the contractor as how to do the work.
iii. Guidelines to the consultant/supervisor as how to
check the quality & what to check (checklist) on
the work.
iv. Protect the interest of the employer/owner to give
the highest possible standard of work.
v. Gives general ideas to the estimator about quality of
work & easy to estimate the project work.
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vi. Gives clear picture to the contractor about the work
to be carried out in the project work for:
• preparing the estimate for submission of tender.
• ordering of materials, equipment, tools & plants.
• organizing, administrating & executing the works (
temporary services).
• Arrangement of testing and testing materials (cube
test, slump test, tensile test, CBR test etc.)
Priority of documents in case of discrepancies
• shall be in accordance with the following sequence
i. Contract agreement
ii. Letter of acceptance
iii. Letter of tender
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iv. Particular/special conditions of contract (SCC)
v. General conditions of contract (GCC)
vi. Specification
vii. Drawings
viii. Schedules
ix. Joint venture undertaking
x. Other documents forming part of the contract
In case of conflict within drawings, the large scale details
shall govern rather than small scale drawing details.
Specification for excavation of foundation
The excavation for the foundation shall be carried out in
all sort of soil, as per the plan and drawing details. The
sides of the trenches shall be truly vertical and bottom
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Uniformly leveled. The excavated material shall be
thrown (lifted) from the nearest sides of the trenches of
the excavation by at least two meter (2m).
The excavation shall be measured as per exact length and
width of the lowest step of the footing. The depth shall be
measured vertically from the average ground level and no
extra amount shall be paid for the working space.
The materials or valuable ornamental goods are found
during excavation shall be the property of the owner or
country. During excavation, if water or large stone are
found, it shall be pumped or blasted properly with leveled
surfaces. There is no allowance for wastage of materials.
The mode of measurement shall be in cubic meter.
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• Write down:
i. Specification for first class brick works in cement
mortar 1:6.
ii. Specification for ashlar stone masonry in cement
mortar 1:4.
iii. Specification of RCC (1:2:4)
iv. Specification for steel reinforcement
v. Specification for cement plaster (1:4)
vi. Specification for distemper painting
vii. Assignment-3: Specification for any one civil
engineering works as you know it.
Note: Write as: materials – proportion – Mixing –
Procedures - test - Mode of measurement & payment as
sequence.
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