5/2/2021 Basic Thumb Rules used in Construction by Civil Engineers?

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Basic Thumb Rules used in

Construction by Civil Engineers?
 Civil Engineering Realities  June 05, 2020  0 Comments

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Thumb rules refers to an easily learned process or standard based on practical experience
rather than theory. It is not intended to be strictly accurate or reliable for every
situation.Thumb rules give us the quick decisions at construction field. It provides with the
rules of mathematical formula and broad ideas whenever needed. As a engineer, we have to
be practical and quick in the field of construction. Basically,thumb rule is the guide for civil
engineers for predictable results. It can vary to some percent but it will give a general idea
as well.When we compare to get the result, the units in the thumb rules are not the same.
Therefore, never consider units when performing the thumb rule.There are several thumb
rules that we apply in construction. Here I am discussing the most frequently used thumb
rules on the site.

Thumb rule to calculate the Concrete Volume with respect to area:

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5/2/2021 Basic Thumb Rules used in Construction by Civil Engineers?

Steel Frame & Truss Machinery

World leading solutions for the manufacturing of steel frames and trusses.

The Concrete Volume of 0.038 m3 of concrete is used for each Square Feet of Plan area.

Example:-
Lets consider , Plan Area = 45 x 25 =1125SFT

Building plan area

The plan area is 1125 SFT then the total volume of concrete required = 1125 x
0.038 m3 = 42.75 m3

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Thumb rule to calculate the Steel quantity required for Slab, Beams,
Footings & Columns:
For Residential buildings - 4.5Kgs - 4.75 Kgs /SFT

For Commercial buildings - 5.0Kgs - 5.50 Kgs/SFT

For more accurate results you can also use BN Datta recommendations:-

As per B N Datta, the Steel quantity used in different members of the building can be
calculated easily using the following recommendations.

Examples:

FOR SLAB:

How to calculate the steel quantity of slab having the Length, width, and depth of the slab
is 6m x 5m x 0.15m

Step 1: Calculate the Volume of Concrete

Total Volume of Concrete for above given Slab is 6 x 5 x 0.15 = 4.5 m3

Step 2: Calculate the steel quantity using formula

As per the above table, the steel quantity of slab is 1% of the total volume of concrete
utilized.

Thumb rule to calculate Steel quantity of above slab = Volume of Concrete x Density of
Steel x % of Steel of Member
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5/2/2021 Basic Thumb Rules used in Construction by Civil Engineers?

Get Started

Steel quantity required for above slab = 4.5 x 7850 x 0.01 = 353 Kgs

FOR COLUMN:

How to calculate the steel quantity of column having the Length, width, and height of the
slab is 1.2m x 0.3m x 4.2 m

Step 1: Calculate the Volume of Concrete

Total Volume of Concrete for above given column is 1.2 x 0.3 x 4.2 = 1.512 m3

Step 2: Calculate the steel quantity using formula

As per the above table, the steel quantity of column is 2.5% of the total volume of concrete
utilized.

Thumb rule to calculate Steel quantity of above slab = Volume of Concrete x Density of
Steel x % of Steel of Member

Steel quantity required for above slab = 1.512 x 7850 x 0.025 = 297 Kgs

Similarly , you can calculate for Beam and Footings.

Thumb rule to calculate the Shuttering area:

Shuttering costs 15-18% of the total construction of the building. Shuttering is framed to
bring the concrete in Shape and giving a desired mould in terms of quality.

Thumb rule to calculate the shuttering required is 6 times the quantity of concrete or 2.4
times of Plinth area.
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5/2/2021 Basic Thumb Rules used in Construction by Civil Engineers?

Suppose, the concrete quantity is 0.8 m3, then the shuttering area required is 0.8 x 6
= 4.8 m2

Components of Shuttering:-

Components of Shuttering are shuttering ply, battens and nails.

Shuttering Ply Quantity calculation:

The shuttering Ply has a length, width & depth of 2.45 x 1.22 x 0.012

The No. of Shuttering Ply sheets = 0.22 times of Shuttering

Suppose, the area of shuttering required = 4.8 m2

Then the Shuttering Ply required = 0.22 x 4.8 = 1.056 m2

Battens Quantity Calculation:

Battens have different widths but we usually use shuttering batten having a length & width
of 75mm x 40mm.

Batten Quantity = 19.82 x No. of Ply Sheets

if the construction requires 32 Ply sheets, the total quantity of Battens are 19.82 x 32 = 634
Battens

Thumb rule for Shuttering oil Quantity:

Shuttering oil is used to de-frame or de-assemble from the concrete easily.

Total required Shuttering oil is = 0.065 x Total Area of Shuttering

(or)

For every 15 m2 of shuttering 1 litre of shuttering oil is consumed.

Example :

15m2is total area of shuttering, then Shuttering oil required = 0.065 x 15 = 0.975 litres

Nails & Binding Wire Quantity in Shuttering:

75gms of Nails are used for 1m2 of Shuttering

75gms of Binding wire is consumed for every 1m2 of Shuttering.

Example:

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15m2 is total area of shuttering, then Binding wire required = 75 x 15 = 1125gms

Plastering Quantity Thumb Rule:

Cement Masonry Quantity Thumb Rule:

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Brickwork Thumb rule:

Thumb rule for Cement, Sand, Coarse Aggregate Quantity in

Different grades of Concrete :

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For Testing:

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Tags civilfield concrete

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