General Specifications

I.Scope of work
The works to undertake under this shall include the furnishing of all necessary materials, labors,
tools, equipment, supervision, operations and services required in construction. Complete accordance
with the plans and specifications stated and designed herewith. All works shall be done with the utmost
quality and care of workmanship to the fullest intent, clear and concise as is based on the given plans and
specifications unless otherwise specified by the authorized supervisor either representative of the owner
or Supervising Architect & Engineer.

II.Excavation, Filling and Grading

1-1 EXCAVATION
The Contractor shall make all necessary excavation for foundations to establish grades indicated
on drawings without extra compensation including all other excavations required and necessary for the
proper prosecution of the work.

1. Cut slope for permanent excavations shall not be steeper than 1-1/2 horizontal to one vertical and the
slope for fills that are permanent shall not be steeper than 2 horizontal to one vertical unless a calculated
data or computed study justifies a steeper slope shall be presented.

2. Deviation from the foregoing limitations due to the slope shall only be permitted if given and presented
upon soil investigation report that shall satisfy the supervising Engineer.

3. The excavation shall be trimmed to the required depth, lines and grades and other incidental
excavations to level up the footings plus compacting and tamping which are included in the building
contract.

4. The materials involved to be excavated shall include: any rock, earth and other materials of any nature
and description that is either encountered or is present in the site in obtaining indicated lines and grade.

5. If the required soil bearing is not obtained at the given depth stated in the drawings then shall the
contractor excavate till the favorable bearing shall be met regardless of the depth.

6. Piers and walls shall be lengthened accordingly and likewise, the footing shall be revised to suit the
new conditions for which the contractor shall be paid at the unit price bid for the given work.

7. No fill or other surcharge loads shall be placed adjacent to any building or structure unless such
building can withstand such additional loads caused by such surcharges.

8. Footings and foundations effected by excavations shall be underpinned appropriately and adequately
to protect it from lateral movement and settlement.

9. Fills used to support the foundations shall be placed in accordance with the accepted engineering
practices. A soil investigation report and a report of satisfactory placement of fill, both, shall be acceptable
to the supervising Architect or engineer.

10. Additional excavations that may be required in the site shall be paid via per unit bid price and not/or at
established unit price, same as follows:

a) All materials of every nature and description, which in the owner’s opinion will require the use of
drilling, blasting, hammers or/and wedging.

b) For any add on excavations to safe bearing soil as required in 5 based upon work required
between indicated grades and authorized grades.

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1-2 UNAUTHORIZED EXCAVATIONS
Where existing surface levels are lower than the sub-grade levels required for work, or where
excess or authorized excavation takes place beyond indicated lines in the drawings, the contractor shall
fill the indicated line and grade at his expense under the following conditions:

1.Where the foundations and footings occur use concrete fill of the same class as specified for footing
and foundations.

2.Where slab occurs, use a well compacted sand and gravel fill.

1-3 EXCAVATION OMMITED

1. When the nature of the soil is such that the safe soil-bearing capacity is attained on higher grades than
the sub-grade level indicated in the planned drawings shall then be decided upon the Architect or
Engineer to stop the excavation and work on those higher grades.

2. Should the owner so decide, it will be ordered in “black and white”. this will be subject to reduction In
the contract price in favor of the owner at unit price bid and or at established price, based upon the
measurements taken between authorized higher grades and grades indicated on the drawings. The same
is true for the ommitted filling due to change of grade.

3. Footings shall never be placed on fill.

1-4 PROTECTION, PUMPING and MAINTENANCE

1. The contractor shall at all times protect the excavation and trenches from damages of rain water, spring
water, backing of drains and from all other water.

2. The contractor shall provide and operate all pumps or other equipment necessary to drain and keep
excavations, pits, trenches and entire sub-grade area free of water under any circumstances and
contingencies that may arise.

3. The contractor shall build necessary enclosures, and construct and maintain temporary drainage for
this purpose.

1-5 INSPECTION
No pouring of concrete shall be done by the contractor unless the bearing surfaces has been
inspected and approved by the owner, and the authority to proceed has been received by the contractor.

1-6 DRAINAGE SYSTEM AT SITE

The Contractor shall provide and construct for the duration of the work or construction a drainage
system of the site approved or directed by the Supervising Architect or Engineer

1-7 FILLING GRADING

1. All excavations shall be back filled immediately after walls and piers have attained full strength and or
as the Owner’s Engineer permits.

2. After the forms have been removed from the footing, walls and piers, the materials taken from the
excavations(free from waste and objectionable matter) shall be used for back-filling around them.

3. This filling materials shall be of layers not to exceed 15cm and thoroughly tamped before the next layer
of fill is placed. Excess materials excavated shall be spread around the area where the Supervising
Architect or Engineer permits so as that it wont be dumped more than 50 meters from the site.

4. Open tile drains around the buildings if any, shall be covered with crushed rocks and/or gravel with a
depth of not less than 30cm, and shall be graded from course to fine.

5. Open tile drains under floor slab shall be covered with broken stones or gravel up to bottom of the slab.

6. In spaces where slabs rest on ground, or no earth-fill as specified in paragraph 2, shall be labeled and
accurately graded 10cm thick of gravel and sand, and tamped thoroughly before concrete pouring is
down.

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1-8 TEMPORARY EASEMENT
The contractor shall obtain the consent of the adjoining property owners regarding the need for a
temporary easements or any other manner of physical encroachment at his own expense.

1-9 PAVEMENT

The Contractor shall repair and restore without extra cost to the government , any street
pavement, street walk, curbs and any other related public structure that may be demolished in the
performance of work.

III.Plain and Reinforced Concrete

2-1 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

1. Acronyms
The following acronyms for applicable standards/ publications are referred to in the specification:

A. ASTM - American Society for Testing Materials

B. ACI - American Concrete Institute

C. POI - Pre stressed Concrete Institute

D. AWS - American Welding Society

E. AISC - American Institute of Steel Construction

2. Standard Specifications and Codes

The work covered by this section shall be governed by the building code requirements for
Reinforced Concrete (ACI 318), Standard code for Arc and Gas Welding Society. The up to date standard
specifications or code will be applied.

3. Coordination

The concrete work shall be coordinated with the work of other trades to allow reasonable time to
set sleeves, inserts and other accessories which must be in position before concrete bases and pads of
mechanical equipment shall be placed to comply with approved shop drawings for the equipment.

4. Workmanship

The contractor shall be responsible for the workmanship that shall be pertinent in the project.

5. Samples

The contractor shall submit samples of cement and aggregates proposed/ to be used on the site
for concrete work, prior to approval to the appointed body.

2-2 MATERIAL REQUIREMENTS

1. Portland Cement

a. Portland cement shall conform to the requirements of ASTM C-150 type for normal Portland
cement, Type III for High Early Strength Portland Cement.

B. Cement shall be any standards commercial brand in 25kg and/or 40kg bags.

2. Fine Aggregates

Sand shall be clean, hard, coarse river sand or crushed sand free from injurious amount of clay
loam and organic matter and shall conform to ASTM C-33 or C-330.

3.Course Aggregate

Gravel shall be river run gravel or broken stones. The maximum size shall be 1/5 of the nearest
dimension between sides of forms of concrete, or 3/4 of minimum clear spacing between reinforcing
bars, or between re-bars and forms which ever is smaller.

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4. Water

Water that will be used in mixing with concrete shall be potable only free from acids,oils,alkali and
organic materials.

5. Admixture

All air-entraining admixtures use shall conform to ASTM C-260. Retardants, water reducing and
accelerating admixtures, if used, shall conform to the requirements of ASTM C-494.

2-3 STORAGE OF MATERIALS

1. Cement and aggregates shall be stored in such a manner as to prevent moisture, deterioration and
intrusion of foreign objects.

2. Cement shall be stored immediately upon arrival to the site, ideally on water proof storage huts or
bodegas with raised floors to discourage water from sipping to the bags.

2-4 PLAIN CONCRETE

1. Plain concrete shall have minimum compressive strength at 28 days of 140 kilograms per square
centimeters or 2,000 pounds per square inch.

2. The concrete used on walls shall have a thickness of 2” or 5cm.

3. Concrete shall consist of Portland Cement, Fine Aggregates,Water and if specified or required
admixtures that will cater the needs of the work site, proportioned and mixed, Cured and finished.

4. The following are types of concrete that may or may not be used depending on the drawings:

A. Lean Concrete

B.Concrete with integral waterproofing

C.High early strength concrete may be used subject to the approval of the supervising
Architect or Engineer.

5. All provisions shall apply to (7) Seven days compressive strength equal to (28) Twenty eight day
strength required for normal concrete. Admixture used in concrete shall be from a reputable manufacturer
and used in accordance to manufacturer’s instructions.

A. Plasticizing Admixture - Concrete admixture shall be free from chlorides and shall
conform to ASTM C-494-651. Admixtures shall be used in all concrete mixtures shall be in
accordance to manufacturer’s specifications

B.Calcium Chloride - Shall not be used under any circumstances.

2-5 PROPORTIONING CONCRETE

1. The contractor shall employ, at his own expense, an approved testing laboratory that shall test the
proportioning thru test cylinders for every concrete specification needed in the work site.

2.The concrete design mix shall be verified by a test on a minimum of 6 cylinder, 3 tested at 7 days and
the other 3 at 28 days, in accordance with ASTM C-192 and G-39 and by Slump test in accordance with
ASTM C-143.

3. The testing laboratory shall provide 5 copies of the design of the mix to the owner or his duly
authorized representative for approval.

4. If at anytime during the construction, the concrete resulting from the approved mix design proves
unsatisfactory for the reason such as too much water, lack of sufficient plasticity to prevent segregation,
honeycomb, etc., or insufficient strength, the contractor shall immediately notify the testing laboratory and
the supervising engineer.

5. The laboratory shall modify the design, subject to approval by the supervising architect or engineer until
a satisfactory concrete is obtained.

6. Stone concrete - Minimum compressive cylinder strength of concrete fc’ at 28 days area as follows:

A. Fc’ 27.58 Mpa for suspended beam, slab and columns.

B. Fc’ 20.68 Mpa for footings and walls.

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7. The water content shall not exceed 28 liters per 40 kilograms per bag of cement and the slump test
shall not exceed 10cm.

8. lean concrete mix to be designated to produce concrete with a 28 day strength of 13.79 Mpa, slump
and size shall be subjected to approval.

9. Proportioning of Concrete classes:

A. Class A - (1:3:4) for roof beams,columns footings and slab.

B. Class B - (1:2) for plastering and mortars.

C. Class C - (1:5) for Mortars

2-6 MIXING CONCRETE

The mixing and measuring equipment shall be approved by the supervising Architect or Engineer.
Unless otherwise authorized, concrete shall be machine mixed at the site or by ready-mixed concrete.

A. Site Mixed Concrete - provide a batch mixer type equipped with accurate timing and
measuring devices and operate in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendation.

B. Mixing Time - for each batch, after all solid materials are placed inside the mixing drum,
and water in introduced before 1/4 of the mixing time has elapsed, shall not be less than 1 minute for
mixers having a capacity of one (1) cubic meter or a fraction thereof for additional concrete.

The concrete mixer shall revolve at no less than 14 or 20 revolutions per minute.

2-7 CURING AND PROTECTION

1.The concrete works shall be protected from dying out after removal of forms by
covering with waterproof paper, polyethelene sheeting, burlap, with a coating of
approved membrane curing compound having a moisture retention equal to 90% based
on ATM C-309, and C-156.

2. Membrane curing compound shall not be used where floor hardener, membrane
waterproofing, damp-proofing, resilient floor tile or other floor or wall covering set in
adhesive, concrete fill or setting beds, paint, plaster or other applied finishing or surfaces
treatment are to be subsequently applied.

3. Wet burlap as often as required to keep concrete wet throughout each day for a period
of at least 7 days where normal Portland cement is used and 3 days where high early strength
cement used is used.

2-8 METAL REINFORCEMENT

1. Reinforcing Bars:

Reinforcing bars shall be fixed one to the other by means of adequate G.I. tie wires to
form a rigid reinforcement cages or nets. Reinforcement bars shall be spaced according to the
approved working drawings and distances between bars shall not be less than those
recommended in ACI-318.

2. Concrete Cover:

The concrete to the gutter reinforcing bars shall be those recommended in ACI 318,
unless other wise specifically indicated in the drawings and specifications.

3.Splices:

Splices in bars shall be avoided as much as possible and shall be staggered in any one
structural member. They shall conform the the design standards of ACI-318. In no case shall
splices be made at critical points of maximum stress.

IV.Concrete Masonry

3-1 General Conditions

The concrete masonry contractor shall examine all drawings and specifications that has any
relations and may affect his work and performance in the execution of the contract. Where any deviation
on the planes and specification is to be made, the Owner shall be notified and his written approval shall
be obtained before the proceeding work.

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3-2 Material Requirements
The following materials to be used under this section of the specifications shall conform with the
concrete masonry standards.

1. Cement shall conform to ASTM C-150

2. Sand or Fine sand shall be clear, sharp and well graded, free from injurious amount of dust,
lumps, alkali and any organic matter.

3. Hallow load bearing masonry units shall be of type I Class A or B unit conforming to ASTM
C-90-70 and the Philippine Bureau of Standards No. 15-2, Series of 1979.

4. Masonry units shall be cured for not less than 14 days if steam-cured, or 28 days if air cured
when placed on the structure.

3-3 Concrete Hallow Blocks

1. For walls and partitions shown on the detailed drawings requiring concrete hallow blocks,
the contractor either uses concrete or ceramic hallow blocks upon approval of the Architect or
Engineer.

2. The load bearing capacity of hallow blocks shall have a minimum compressive
strength of 6.89 Mpa (1000 Psi) computed from average of five units based on the
average gross area, and a minimum of 5.41 Mpa(800 psi) for the individual unit respectively, all
based on gross area.

3. All exterior walls shall use “5x8x16” CHB and Interior walls shall use “4x8x16” CHB.

4. Concrete cover for CHB exposed to the ground shall have a covering of atleast 75mm, CHB
not directly exposed to the ground shall have a covering of 40mm.

5. Cement used for grout shall be of Type 1,2,3 or type 4 Portland Cement conforming to ASTM
C-150.

V. Carpentry
All lumber to be used in this construction shall be dry, well seasoned and is of approved quality of
the respective kind of requirement of specific works, free from any large or loose or unsound knots, saps,
shakes or any other imperfections that may impair there strength, durability and appearance.

4-1 Carpentry and Joinery Works

1. Plywood shall be of good grade and made of laminated wood strips bonded together
with water resistant resin glue.

2. Framing shall be stress grade or common grade lumber. Rough carpentry shall be
done true to lines, levels and dimensions. It shall be squared, aligned plumbed and well
fitted joints.

3. Nails shall not be driven closer together than one half their length unless driven in bored
holes, or closer to the edge of the timber than one quarter their length.

VI.Tinsmithry & Roofing

F. A. #26 Long span color roofing sheets shall be used for roofing and shall be laid according to
the foreman’s knowledge and skills.

5-1 Roof & Accessories

1. Strap fasteners shall be of 0.50mm thick by 2.5cm wide and sufficiently long to
bend up to the opposite face of the purlins with corners chipped off for riveting.

2.Ridge and hip rolls shall have an overlap of atleast 25cm over roof sheets and
together shall be riveted at every second corrugation or rib.

3. valleys shall lap atleast 45cm each way under the roofing sheets and shall be
secured to the framework with galvanized nails, placed below roof sheets.

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VII. Doors, Windows & Miscellaneous
Refer to the drawings and specifications for identifying any schedules of doors and windows and
any types further required, approved by the supervising Engineer or Architect.

VIII. Steel Trusses

Structural steel to be used in the construction shall conform to the details and specifications for
structural steel ASTMA-36 or as permitted by the Engineer. Structural Steel shall be free of any
imperfections, requiring pristine physical properties of steel to attain the utmost ability of the steel’s
structure.

IX. Electrical works

The work under this provision consist of furnishings all materials, equipment, tools, labor and all
other services necessary to the complete and make ready for operation the electrical power system and
lighting system described by the electrical plan and is in accordance to the latest Philippine Electrical
Code(PEC) and specifications and General Conditions of the contract and shall be supervised by a duly
Registered Electrical Engineer or Master Electrician.

X. Plumbing
The building contractor shall furnish all labor and materials needed for plumbing works and
installation must conform to the provision of the National Plumbing Code of the Philippines. Plumbings
shall include water service connections and septic vaults, waste and or main sewer lines.

6-1 Pipes
Unless other wise stated or specified, all pipe fittings to be used in the project shall be of
PVC type pipes, the following are the effective and advisable pipe that are or will be used:

1. PVC - Polyvinyl Chloride

2. CPVC - Chlorinated Polyvinyl Chloride

3. uPVC - Unplasticized Polyvinyl Chloride

4. ABS - Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene

5. PP - Polypropylene

For flexible connections: Polyethylene (PE) or Polybutylene (PB)

XI. Miscellaneous
Any extra works related to the construction or project which are not specified above but is
necessary to have works completed and satisfactorily and is desired further more by the owner or the
Contractor shall be approved in accordance to the standard practices and is based in just and reasonable
interpretation.

End of document