CONSTRUCTION SPECIFICATIONS

This set of Specifications shall govern the methods of construction and the kinds of materials to
be used for the proposed building shown in the plans and detail drawings.

The plans, detail drawings and these Specifications shall be considered as complementing each
other, so that what is mentioned or shown in one, although not mentioned or shown in the other, shall
be considered as appearing on both. In case of conflict between the two, the same should be referred to
the designing Architect/Engineer for resolution.

GENERAL CONDITIONS –

All parts of the construction shall be finished with first class workmanship, to the fullest talent
and meaning of the plans and these Specifications, and to the entire satisfaction of the
Architect/Engineer and the Owner.

The construction shall conform to all the requirements of the National Building Code, as well as
the local rules and regulations of the Municipality/city of ,Philippines.

CLEARING THE SITE –

The building site shall be levelled according to the plans and cleared of rubbish, roots and other
perishable and objectionable matters to a suitable subgrade.

All such unsuitable materials shall be removed from the building site and spread uniformly over
the areas adjacent to the proposed building, or otherwise disposed of as may be directed by the
Architect or Engineer in charge of the construction.

STAKING OUT THE BUILDING LINES –

The building lines shall be staked out and all lines and grades shown in the drawing established
before any excavation is started. Batterboards and reference marks shall be erected at such places
where they will not be disturbed during the excavation of the building.

EXCAVATION –

All excavations shall be made to grade indicated in the drawings. Where the building site is
covered with any kind of fill, the excavation for footings should be made deeper until the stratum for
safe bearing capacity of the soil is reached.

Whenever water is encountered in the excavation process, it shall be removed by bailing or

pumping, care being taken that the surrounding soil particles are not disturbed or removed.

BACKFILLS –

After concrete for foundations is hard enough to withstand pressure resulting from fills, the
materials removed from excavations shall be used for backfill around them.

CONCRETE WORKS –
 All concrete shall be mixed thoroughly until there is a uniform distribution of the cement and
aggregrates, and should be deposited as nearly as practicable in its final position, care being taken to
avoid segregation of aggregrates.

Water to be used for mixing concrete shall be clean and free from injurious amount of oil , acids,
alkalis, salts and other organic materials.

PORTIONING OF CONCRETE –

All concrete works shall be done in accordance wih the standard specifications for plain and
reinforced concrete as adopted by the Government. Cement to be used shall be Rizal Cement portland
cement, Holcim pozzolan cement or any other equivalent brands more readily available in the locality.
Alternative cements so selected must meet the requirements of Portland and pozzolan cements, and
approved by the Architect or Engineer in charge of construction.

The following proportions of concrete mixtures shall be used for the various parts of the
building:

Columns and footings - Class A ( 1 : 2 : 4 )

Conc. Holl. Blk. footings - Class B ( 1 : 2 – ½ : 5 )
Reinf. Conc. Beams and Slabs - Class A ( 1 : 2 : 4 )
Concrete slab floor on fill - Class C ( 1 : 3 : 6 )
Septic Vault cover - Class A ( 1 : 2 : 4 )
Class A concrete shall be mixture of 1 part cement, 2 parts fine aggregate and 4 parts coarse
aggregate by volume, plus enough clean water to make the mixture into a pliable paste.
Class B concrete shall be a mixture of 1 part cement, 2-1/2 parts fine aggregate and 5 parts
coarse aggregate by volume, plus enough clean water to make the mixture into a pliable paste.
Class C concrete shall be mixture of 1 part cement, 3 parts fine aggregate and 6 parts coarse
aggregate by volume, plus enough clean water to make the mixture into a pliable paste.
The fine aggregate for concrete shall consist of natural sand, or of inert materials with similar
characteristics, having clean, hard and durable grains, free from organic matter or loam.
The coarse aggregate for concrete shall consist of crushed rock of durable and strong qualities
or clean and hard gravel. Size of the coarse aggregate to be used shall vary from 20mm to 40mm (3/4”
to 1-1/2”).
FORMS FOR CONCRETE WORKS –
All forms for concrete works shall be properly braced or connected together so as to maintain
the correct position and shapes of the concrete members. Forms shall be constructed sufficiently tight
to prevent bulging and seepage of water.
Forms shall not be removed until the concrete has attained sufficient strength to support its
own weight and any loads that may be placed on it. Side forms of beams and girders may be removed
earlier than the bottom forms but additional posts or shoring must be placed under the beams or
girders until they have attained their strength.
CONCRETE SLAB FLOORS ON FILL –
 Concrete slabs on fill shall be poured on a gravel bed of not less than 100m thick. Each concrete
slab course to be poured shall not be more than one meter wide, and each course shall be poured
alternately to the indicated floor finish.
SECOND FLOOR TOILET-BATH AND BALCONY CONCRETE FLOOR SLABS –
When preparing the concrete for upper floor slabs of Toilet-Bath and balcony it shall be made
waterproof by adding (Specify Brand) waterproofing compound to the mixture.
The proportion of the waterproofing compound to a given volume of concrete mixture shall be
as recommended by the product manufacturer.
STEEL REINFORCING BARS –
All steel reinforcing bars to be used in this construction shall consist of round deformed bars
with lugs or projections on their sides to provide a greater bond between the concrete and the steel. All
steel reinforcing bars to be used shall be (Specify brand).
All steel reinforcing bars shall be accurately placed and secured against displacement by typing
them together at each bar intersection with Gauge No. 16 galvanized iron wire.
The steel reinforcing bars indicated for footings, columns, slabs, beams, girders, and other
concrete members shall all conform to the number, size and spacing as indicated in the drawings or
schedule of steel reinforcements.
No metal reinforcement shall be installed in place unless it is free from rust scale or other
coatings, which will destroy or reduce the bond with concrete.
CONCRETE HOLLOW BLOCKS –
Concrete hollow blocks to be used in this project shall be (Specify brand)
All exterior concrete hollow blocks to be used for first floor walls shall be at least 150mm thick,
while concrete hollow blocks for interior walls unless otherwise indicated, shall be 100mm thick. For
interior CHB walls where plumbing pipes and fittings shall be located, the thickness shall be at least
150mm.
Concrete hollow block to be used for walls above the first floor, shall be 100mm thick.
The concrete hollow block walls shall be laid, and the cells filled with cement mortar consisting
of 1 part portland cement and 3 parts sand by volume. They shall be reinforced with round deformed
bars, 10mm diameter, spaced not more than 0.80m on centers, bothways.
All exposed surfaces of concrete hollow block walls shall be finished with the specified materials
indicated on the elevation drawings.
The mixture of cement plaster for concrete hollow block wall finishes indicated in the drawings
shall be 1 part cement, 1 part lime and 3 parts sand.
FLOOR FINISHES –
The materials to be used as floor finishes for the rooms of the buildings shall be as follows:
Entrance Porch ……………………………………………………………(Specify)
Living Room ………………………………………………………………..(Specify)
 Dining Room ……………………………………………………………….(Specify)
Kitchen ………………………………………………………………….…….(Specify)
A.37 ESTIMATING BILLS OF MATERIALS –
Bedrooms (Second Floor) and Hall ……………………….……(Specify)
Bedrooms (Third Floor) and Hall ………………………………..(Specify)
Bedrooms (Fourth Floor) and Hall …………………..…………(Specify)
Bedrooms (Fifth Floor) and Hall ………………………………...(Specify)
Balcony (Second Floor) …………………………………………..….(Specify)
Balcony (Third Floor) ………………………….……………………...(Specify)
Balcony (Fourth Floor) ………………………….…………………….(Specify)
Balcony (Fifth Floor) ………………………….………..……………...(Specify)
TILE WALL AND FLOOR FINSIHES –
The toilet and bathroom floors shall be finished with (Specify brand) ceramic tiles carrying the
brand, (Specify brand) Tiles.
The walls of the toilets, bathrooms, top of kitchen cabinets, and laundry tub, and their adjacent
walls shall be wainscoted with 200mm x 200mm (8” x 8”) ceramic tiles.
Interior and exterior comers of tiled floors and walls shall be provided with the necessary tile
mouldings.
All tiles for floor, walls and mouldings shall be free from laminations, serrated edges, chipped-
off corners and other defects, which would adversely affect their appearance and strength. All joints
between tiles and mouldings shall be filled with (Specify Brand) white cement then carefully wiped.
Before the tiles and mouldings are laid in place, they shall be thoroughly soaked in water if
recommended by the manufacturer. Mortar to be used in setting the tiles and moldings shall be mixture
of 1 part cement and 2 parts sand by volume.
LUMBER –
Lumber to be used in this project shall be well seasoned, thoroughly dry and free from loose or
unsound knot, shakes or other imperfections impairing their strength or appearances.
The kind of lumber to be used for the various parts of the building shall be as follows:
Exterior door frames …………………..……………………….……(Specify)
Interior door frames ………………..………………………………..(Specify)
Purlins, Wall Studs, Ceiling Joists, Cleats ………..….………(Specify)
Fascia Boards, Cabinets/Closets Shelves …………………...(Specify)
Stair Treads, Stringers, Risers and Handrails……………...(Specify)
FRAMES –
All wood frames for windows, doors, cabinets and closets shall be done as much as possible,
with carefully fitted mortise and tenon joints. All door and window frames to be installed on concrete
hollow block and other masonry walls shall be anchored with 76mm (3”) common wire nails all around
the contact surfaces. And all such contact surfaces shall first be painted with (Specify Brand) wood
preservative before the frames are installed in place.
 All unexposed lumber such as posts, plate, floor roof beams, trusses or rafters, floor joists and
bridgings, purlins, cleats, ceiling joists, wall studs, etc. shall likewise be treated with (Specify brand)
wood preservative after they have been installed in place.
DOOR AND DOOR FRAMES –
Doors and door frames shall conform to the sizes, design and kind of materials shown in the
details of doors, schedule of doors or as per the bill of materials.
All wooden doors shall be hung at least 3 pieces of 102mm x 102mm (4” x 4”) loose-pin bearing
template hinges.
Door lockset to be used shall be (Specify brand) brand to be installed 1024mm from the finished
floor line.
STEEL WINDOWS –
Steel windows to be used in this project shall conform to the size and designs shown in the
detail drawings or schedule of steel windows, or as per the bill of materials.
SLIDING WINDOWS –
Sliding windows to be used in this project shall conform to the size and designs shown in the
detail drawings or schedule of steel windows, or as per the bill of materials.
STORM DRAINAGE –
All downspouts from the roof gutters shall end in concrete catch basins, to which 6” ϕ
reinforced concrete drainage pipes shall be connected leading to the street gutter fronting the building.
PAINTING –
All painting work for this project, except as hereinafter specified, shall be done with the use of
Boysen paint products.
The painting contractor shall supply all tabor, paint materials, tools, staging and equipment
necessary, and shall perform all painting and finishing work as shown in the schedule of painting and
finishing work for this project.
The painting contractor shall store his materials in one place in the building to be kept neat and
clean, care being taken in the storage of paints, oils, etc. to prevent danger of fire. Oily rags shall be kept
in metal containers and shall be removed from the building every end of the working day.
Upon completion of the painting works, the painting contractor shall remove any paint spots
from all finished work. He shall present his work to the Project owner or Architect/Engineer in-charge of
construction, free from blemishes and rubbish generated by his workers.
It shall be the painting contractor’s responsibility to protect his work and those of other
contractors during the time his work is underway. He shall be responsible for any damage to the work or
property of others caused by his employees or by himself.
Before any painting is done, all surfaces shall be cleaned, smoothed and freed from dust, dirt,
grease, mortar, rust and other foreign substances. All parts where paint remover has been used shall be
washed off with paint or lacquer thinner. All paints shall be spread evenly and carefully.
 All paint and paint materials shall be delivered to the building site in unbroken packages,
bearing the marks of the specified brand. No adulteration of specified paints with other brands shall be
allowed.