Thumb rules play a most crucial role while taking quick

decisions on site. Thumb rules enable you to calculate the

solution using a simple mathematical formula and make
smart decisions whenever needed. Remember, thumb rules
never give the accurate results, but you can use them for
approximate results. There are many thumb rules which we
apply in construction. Here I am discussing the most
frequently used Thumb rules on site.

Thumb rule is an approximate & comparing method. In thumb

rules, The units are not the same when we compare to get the
results. So never consider units while performing thumb rule.

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 Contents [show]

Thumb rule to calculate the Concrete

Volume with respect to area:
The Concrete Volume of 0.038m3 of concrete is used for each
IMPORTANT TOPICS
Square Feet of Plan area
AUTOCAD
Example:- Bar Bending Schedule

From below Sg: Plan Area = 40 x 20 = 800SFT bricks cement test

Civil engineer Student corner

The plan area is 800SFT then the total volume of concrete
Compressive strength test
required = 800 x 0.038m3 = 30.4m3 on Building materials

concrete Eeld tests

gate material gate notes

Geo technical engineering

highway engineering

highways jobs

land surveying plans

Quality check of building

materials on site

Quantity surveying

reinforcement Road

staircase

Tests on cement

Tests on concrete

workability of concrete test

You can learn more about Concrete Volume calculation

Thumb rule to calculate the Steel

quantity required for Slab, Beams,
Footings & Columns:
For Residential buildings 4.5Kgs-4.75Kgs /SFT
For Commercial buildings 5.0Kgs-5.50Kgs/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.

Structural Member Percentage of Steel

Slab 1% of total volume of concrete

Beam 2% of of total volume of concrete

Column 2.5% of total volume of concrete

Footings 0.8% of total volume of concrete

Example:

How to calculate the steel quantity of slab having the Length,

width, and depth of the slab is 5m x 4m x 0.15m

Step 1: Calculate the Volume of Concrete

Total Volume of Concrete for above given Slab is 5 x 4 x 0.15

= 3m3

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

Steel quantity required for above slab = 3 x 7850 x 0.01 =

235Kgs
For accurate calculation, you can refer to Bar Bending
Schedule

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.
Thumb rule to calculate the shuttering required is 6 times the
quantity of concrete or 2.4 times of Plinth area.

Suppose, the concrete quantity is 0.5m3 then the shuttering

area required is 0.5 x 6 = 3m2

Components of Shuttering:-

Shuttering Ply, Battens, Nails are components of Shuttering.

Shuttering Ply Quantity calculation:

The shuttering Ply has a length, width & depth of 2.44 x 1.22 x
0.012

The No. of Shuttering Ply sheets = 0.22 times of

Shuttering

Suppose, the area of shuttering required = 3m

2
Then the Shuttering Ply required = 0.22 x 3 = 0.66m2

Battens Quantity Calculation:

Shuttering batten usually have a length & width of 75mm x
40mm.

Batten Quantity = 19.82 x No. of Ply Sheets

if the construction requires 25 Ply sheets, the total quantity of

Battens are 19.82 x 25 = 495 Battens

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.

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

Example :

15m2 is total area of shuttering, then Shuttering oil required =

0.065 x 15 = 0.975 lts

For Accurate Shuttering Area Calculation, You can check here

Shuttering area required for slabs, columns, Beams, Footings

Thumb rule for Cement, Sand, Coarse

Aggregate Quantity in Different
grades of Concrete :
Cement Coarse Aggregate Fine Aggregate
Concrete Mix
Quantity Quantity Quantity

M5 (1:5:10) 2.82 0.98m3 0.49m3

Bags

M7.5(1:4:8) 3.48 0.97m3 0.48m3

Bags

M10(1:3:6) 4.50 0.90m3 0.45m3

Bags

M15(1:2:4) 6.60 0.88m3 0.44m3

Bags

M20(1:1.5:3) 8.40 0.84m3 0.42m3

Bags

Note: 1 bag of cement = 50Kgs

For Accurate calculation refer to Concrete Mix design for
Different grades of concrete

Thumb rule for Cement

quantity in Brickwork, Cement
Masonry & Plastering work in
construction:
Brickwork Thumb rule:
Cement Qty Cement Qty
Brickwork for 1m3
in m3 in Bags

230 mm Brickwork 0.876bags/m3 43.80kgs

115 mm Brickwork 0.218bags/m3 10.90kgs

Cement Masonry Quantity Thumb

Rule:
Cement Qty in Cement Qty
Cement Masonry Type & Mix
Bags in Kgs

200mm in Cement Masonry 0.124Bags/m2 6.2Kgs/m2

work of ratio 1:6

150mm in Cement Masonry 0.093Bags/m2 4.65Kgs/m2

 work of ratio 1:6

200mm in Cement Masonry 0.206Bags/m2 10.3Kgs/m2

work of ratio 1:4

150mm in Cement Masonry 0.144Bags/m2 7.2Kgs/m2

work of ratio 1:4

100mm in Cement Masonry 0.103Bags/m2 5.15Kgs/m2

work of ratio 1:4

Plastering Quantity Thumb Rule:

Cement Qty in Cement Qty in
Type of Plastering
Bags Kgs

Rough Plastering 0.09Bags/m2 4.5Kgs/m2

Internal Wall 0.09Bags/m2 4.5Kgs/m2

Plastering

Duct Plastering 0.09Bags/m2 4.5Kgs/m2

External Wall 0.175Bags/m2 8.75Kgs/m2

plastering

Stucco Plastering 0.175Bags/m2 8.75Kgs/m2

Lathen Plastering 0.55Bags/m2 27.5Kgs/m2

Also Read:-

Accurate Shuttering Area Calculation

Concrete Mix Design

Bar Bending Schedule

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