1 15ENG4.

6 - SPECIFICATION, QUANTITYAND COSTING OF BUILDING

SPECIFICATIONS
A specification is a specific description of a particular subject. An engineering
specification contains detailed description of all workmanship & materials, which is
required to complete an engineering project in accordance with its drawing and details.
This data regarding the materials and workmanship is known as the specifications for
the work.

Why specification?
 The cost of an unit quantity of work is governed by its specifications.
 The necessity of specification is to verify and check the strength of materials for a
work involved in a project.
 Specifications serves as a guide to the supervising staff of the contractor as well as to
the owner to execute the work to their entire satisfaction.
 A work is carried according to its specification and the contractor is paid for the same.
 Specification is necessary to satisfy the equipments, tools and plants to be engaged for
work.
 It specifies the workmanship and the method of doing the work.
 Specification is an essential contract document and is required for arbitration or court
cases.

Types of Specifications
1. General Specifications
2. Detailed Specifications

1. General Specifications

In general specifications, nature and class of works and names of materials used
are described. It is a short description of different parts of the work specifying material
proportions, qualities etc. It is useful for estimating the project. The general
specifications do not form a part of contract document.

2. 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
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they shall be executed. While writing the detailed specifications, the same order of the
work is to be carried out is maintained.

Some of the important specifications,

1. EXCAVATION OF FOUNDATIONS
2. EARTH FILLING
3. CEMENT CONCRETE
4. REINFORCED CEMENT CONCRETE
5. DAMP PROOF COURSE
6. BRICK WORK
7. TERRAZO FLOORING
8. MARBLE FLOORS
9. WHITE WASHING
10. PLASTERING
11. PAINTING

1. EXCAVATION OF FOUNDATIONS
1. Before the earthwork is started, the whole area where the work is to be done shall be
cleared of grass, roots of trees and other organic matter.
2. In order to ascertain the nature of the soil, it is essential to dig trial pits at each of the four
corners of the proposed site of a building before starting the construction.
3. Equality of pressure should be aimed at in designing foundations.
4. The excavation shall be carried out exactly in accordance with the dimensions shown on
drawings. Sides of the trenches shall be vertical and its bottom shall be perfectly levelled,
both longitudinally and transversely.
5. The foundation Trenches shall be taken down to the exact width of the widest part of the
foundation.
6. The bottoms of all trenches shall be well watered and rammed. The soft and defective
place shall be filled with concrete or with any other hard material as directed by the
Engineer-in-charge.
7. If, however, rocky surface is met, it shall be made as leveled as possible and any small in
equalities shall be filled with concrete.
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8. When it is specified that the work is to be carried out without removing pipes, cables,
sewers etc all of them shall be temporarily shored and saved from any damage.
9. Water in trenches must be bailed or pumped out and where it is apprehended that the
sides may fall down, arrangement shall be made for adequate timber shoring.
10. The excavated material shall be placed away from the sides of the trench of the
excavation by at least 1m.
2.EARTH FILLING
1. Earth used for filling shall be free from salts, organic matter, brick-bat, stone and white
ants.
2. Normally excavated earth from the same area shall be used for filling.
3. It shall be spread uniformly, laid in 15 cm layers and each layer shall be well watered
and rammed with iron rammers.
4. In case of final layer the entire filled up area shall be flooded with water and the same
process of ramming shall be continued till no further settlement can be appreciated.
5. In case of high embankments, the layers shall not exceed 30 cm depth and the settlement
allowances shall be made @ 10% of the height of uncomapacted fills.
6. Special care shall be taken that no damage is caused to the pipes, drains and masonry in
the trenches.

3.CEMENT CONCRETE/ PLAIN CEMENT CONCTERE[PCC]

 Materials
Cement, sand(Fine aggregate), Coarse aggregate and water.

a. Cement
Cement shall be Portland cement of the Indian standard Specifications as per IS: 269. All
cement shall be brought to the site of work in bags with the seals in tack, fresh and free
from moisture. All cement shall be gauged by weight and shall be added at the mixture in
whole 50kg bags.
b. Fine Aggregate (Sand)
It shall conform to either I.S 383-1963 or I.S 515up-to-date. It Shall consist of clean, hard,
uncoated grains of natural sand or crushed stone sand free from clay, loam, silt, organic
or other deleterious substances. If sample of sand contains more than 4 to 6 percent of
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clay, it should be washed thoroughly. Sand should be perfectly dry before it is used.
Otherwise bulking effect of sand is taken into account.
c. Coarse aggregate
It shall consists of crushed stone, crushed boulders graded between 4.75mm to 40mm. It
should be free from dirt, clay, leaves or other organic matter and soft or decayed stone
and shall be of the gauge specified according to the nature of the work.
d. Water
Water used in construction shall be clean, free from earthly, vegetable or organic
impurities: like alkalis, salts etc. which cause efflorescence and affect setting time of
mortar. Potable water is generally considered satisfactory for mixing and curing
concrete.
MIXING (CEMENT CONCRETE)
Proportioning of mixture shall be done by volume. In all proportions of cement concrete
except 1:1 ½:3, 1:2:4 and 1:3:6, the measured quantity of cement is to be placed on top of
the measured quantity of the aggregate (fine and coarse) and the whole mass mixed
three or four times so that it shall be thoroughly incorporated. The required quantity of
water (clean, rather drinking water) shall then be added and the entire wet mass shall be
turned over into homogeneous mixture of the required consistency.
Water used in construction shall be clean, free from earthly, vegetable or organic
impurities: like alkalis, salts etc. which cause efflorescence and affect setting time of
mortar.

4. REINFORCED CEMENT CONCRETE

The standard mix for reinforced cement concrete is (1:2:4). In addition to this, round
steel bars are embedded to make the structure strong to take up all the tensile stresses.

a. Mixing, Placing and handling the concrete:

The two ingredients i.e. cement and sand shall be hand mixed dry, three or more times
until the mix comes to a uniform colour. The measured quantity of coarse aggregate shall
then be added to the mixture and whole mixed dry thoroughly. The required quantity of
water shall then be added with Reinforcement. Concrete shall be handled from the
mixing platform to the final deposit as rapidly as possible. After depositing, the concrete
is to be vibrated, tamped to ensure that no hollow places are left.
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b. Reinforcement
Round steel bars as far as possible shall be used in preference to square bars. The bars
shall be thoroughly cleaned of rust, scale and of coatings that might destroy or reduce
bond. The ends of all bars shall be properly hooked and bends shall be made as per
drawing and design supplied. In case of joints in reinforcement an overlay of not less
than 40 diameters shall be given for tension member.

c. Forms and centering

Forms wherever required shall be sufficiently rigid and strong to withstand the weight of
concrete and the movement of labor, material and plant. Forms shall be sufficiently water
tight to prevent leakage of mortar. If necessary props, bracing and wedges are placed.

d. Laying
Before depositing the concrete, the reinforcement shall be correctly laid in position and
secured against displacement by tying with soft iron wire. The bars shall remain in
position 20 mm. above the surface of centering.

e. Curing
The concrete when laid shall be carefully protected from the extremes of weather and
temperature and from unequal or too repaid drying. It shall be thoroughly kept wet for at
least 14 days.

f. Expansion joints
In every long lengths of slab work, expansion joints shall be provided at an intervals of
about 9 m. to 12m.
g. Bearing
The bearing of slabs not be less than the thickness of the slab with a minimum of 12cm.

5. DAMP PROOF COURSE

In order to prevent water absorption form the soil and thus causing dampness in the
walls, a continuous layer of an impervious material is provided. Such a material is known
as a horizontal damp proof course. It consists of cement concrete 1:2:4, I part cement
washed sand and 4 parts shingle (gauge 6mm to 20mm,) Unless and otherwise specified,
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the damp proof course shall consist of 4 cm thickness of cement concrete with one coat of
bitumen laid hot @ 1 kg per square meter of Damp proof course and be sanded
immediately.
The Damp proof course shall extend to the full width of the superstructure walls except
in the case of outer walls where it shall not be carried across doorways and verandah
openings and similar openings.
Vertical D.P.C. shall consist of 12mm or 18mm thick 1:3 cement plaster with two layer of
bitumen laid hot. Bitumen shall be blown bitumen grade 85/25, having application
temperature 177 to 204 c.
6. BRICK WORK

Brick work consists of first class bricks laid in the mortar specified.

FIRST CLASS BRICK: It should conform to IS specification. Brick should be table mould,
well burnt, copper red colored. Free from cracks and with sharp and square edges. They
should be uniform and standard in size, shall give clear ringing sound. Bricks shall be
well soaked at least 12hours before their use.

Cement mortar: cement mortar shall consist of mixture of 1:3, 1:5, or 1:6 according to
the nature of work.(1 portion of cement and specified portion of sand)

Mixing: cement and sand shall be thoroughly mixed dry and then water is added. Mortar
to which the water is added shall be used within 30 minutes of the addition of water.

Soaking of bricks: Bricks shall be soaked in water before use for a period for the water
to just penetrate the whole depth of the bricks.

Bond and laying: Broken bricks shall not be used except as closers. Brick shall be laid in
English bond unless specially mentioned with frog(indentation) upwards.

Finishing of joints: Bricks shall be so laid that all joints are full of mortar. The thickness
of joints shall be raked to a minimum depth of 15mm by raking tool during the progress
of work when mortar is still green so as to provide proper key for plastering & pointing
to be done.
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Curing: The brickwork shall be constantly kept moist on all faces for a minimum period
of seven days. Brickwork during the day shall be suitably marked indicating the date on
which the work is done so as of keep a watch on the curing period.

7. TERRAZO FLOORING

It consists of two layers, the under layer usually of 20mm thick cement concrete 1:2:4
and the top layer usually 6mm thick terrazzo consisting of cement, marble powder,
marble chip in the specified proportion and water.
Laying: The concrete shall be laid within the panel and thoroughly compacted with
wooden thapies with the required thickness. The terrazzo topping shall be laid while the
under layer is still plastic, but has hardened. The surface of the top layer shall be
trowelled over, pressed and brought true to required level by a straight edge and steel
floats.
Polishing, curing and Finishing: Polishing shall be done by machine. About 36 hours
after laying the top layers the surface shall be watered and ground evenly with machine
fitted with rapid cutting carborundum stone of coarse grade No.60 till the marble
chipsare evenly exposed and the floor is smooth. The surface shall be allowed to cure 5 to
7 days. After the final polish oxalic acid shall be dusted over the surfaces at rate 30gms
per sqm sprinkled with water and rubbed hard with a pad of woolen rags until to get
smooth finish.
8. MARBLE FLOORS

Marble: Marble shall be hard, sound, dense and homogeneous in texture with crystaling
texture as far as possible. It shall generally be uniform in color and free from stains,
cracks, decay and weathering.
Dressing of slabs: Every stone shall be cut to the required size and shape, fine chisel
dressed on all sides to the full depth so that a straight edge laid along the side of the
stone shall be fully in contact with it. The sides and top surface of slabs shall be machine
be machine rubbed or table rubbed with coarse sand before paving. The thickness of the
slabs shall be 20, 30 or 40mm as specified in the description of the item.
Laying: Base concrete or the RCC slab on which the slabs are to be laid shall be cleaned,
wetted and mopped. The bedding for the slabs shall be with cement mortar 1:4. The
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average thickness of the bedding mortar under slab shall be 20mm and the thickness at
any place under the slab shall be not less than 12mm.
Polishing and finishing: Slight unevenness at the meeting edges of slabs shall then be
removed by fine chiseling and finished in the same manner as specified except that
cement slurry with or without pigments shall not be applied on the surface before each
polishing.
9. WHITE WASHING
The surface to be white washed must be clean and smooth and perfectly dry before
applying white wash.
Each coat be allowed to dry before next is applied. New plastered surface white washed,
shall not be trowelled to a glazed surface otherwise white wash will not adhere.
The white wash shall be made from pure fat lime, brought to the work in an unslaked
condition and termed as class “C‟ lime. Water shall be added to this lime in a tub, until
the mixture is of a consistency of cream and allowed to rest for 24 to 48 hours. The
mixture shall then be strained through coarse cloth, suitable quantity of gum shall be
added, dissolved in hot water. This hot water shall be added at the rate of about 5 liters
per kg. to produce milky solution.
Colour washing
The colour wash shall be made from pure slaked fat lime and mixed with the necessary
pigment to give the required shade. The pigment shall be such as to be unaffected by
lime.
The surface to be colour washed shall be given one coat of white wash and then one or
two coats of colour washing. Each coat of site or colour wash is to be allowed to dry and
passed by the Engineer- in-Charge before the next is applied.

10. PLASTERING
Materials: Cement shall be fresh Portland cement and sand shall be medium quality,
clean, free from organic matter or salt. Water used shall be free from impurities and
other harmful ingredients. Drinking water may be used.
Preparation of surface: The work of cement plaster shall be carried out after masonry
joints are raked out to a depth of 20mm and well watered. Extra projection of masonry
more than 13mm to the general level surface should be cut-off. To ensure uniform
thickness of plaster as specified, narrow strips of about 10cm wide plaster shall be
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applied first a distance of about 1m centres and the gaps between such strips shall
immediately be filled up with mortar.
Materials and proportioning: The proportion of mortar shall be maintained by one part
by cement and six parts by sand. The dry ingredients shall be mixed thoroughly and
required amount of water shall be added.
Mixing: Mixing shall be done on a water light platform. The materials shall be at first
mixed dry thoroughly till uniform in color in the required proportion and then shall be
mixed wet by adding water slowly and gradually for at least four times to give a uniform
paste. Mortar prepared should be consumed with in the 30minutes.
Application of plaster: The first coat of plaster shall be uniformly applied in the best
workmanship after applying the water. The thickness of first coat shall be at least 12mm
and should be cured for 7 days.
Finish: The second coat shall be started at least after 7 days and should be 8mm
thickness.
Measurement: Measurement is taken in square metres.
Curing: Plastering surface shall be kept wet by sparkling water after 12hours fpr at least
7 days.

11. PAINTING
Materials:
Paints, oils, varnishes, thinners if required etc of approved brand and manufactured shall
be used. Only ready mixed paint as received from the manufacturer without any
admixture shall be used.
Commencing work:
Painting shall not be started until the engineer has inspected the items of work to be
painted. Painting of external surface should not be done in adverse weather condition
like hail storm and dust storm.
Preparation of Surface:
The surface shall be thoroughly cleaned and dusted off. All rust, dirt, scales, smoke
splashes, mortar droppings and grease shall be thoroughly removed before painting is
started. The prepared surface shall have received the approval of the engineer after
inspection, before painting is commenced.
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Application:
The paint container when opened and before its application should be thoroughly
stirred. The painting work is done very smoothly and evenly by means of crossing and
laying which consists of covering the area by the paint, brushing the surface hard for the
first time over and then brushing alternately in opposite direction, 2 or 3 times and then
finally brushing lightly in a direction at right angles to the same. No hair marks from the
brush or clogging of paint puddles in the corners of panels etc shall be left on work.

Painting on Wood work

Preparation of the surfaces: The surface should be painted dry, rubbed down smooth
with medium and fine sand paper. Knots or holes shall be covered or filled in mixture of
red lead and glue in equal quantities, which is called knotting.
Prime coat: All wood work shall receive at first coat of priming composed of one part of
white lead and eight parts of chalk powder and mixed together with 4 parts of double
boiled linseed oil.
Application: Two coats of paints shall be applied over priming coat. The paint shall be
applied with brushes, smoothly spread in direction opposite to that of first coat without
any visible brush marks. Final coat is applied in a perpendicular direction to the 1 st coat.
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