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Basic Thumb Rules used in

Construction by Civil Engineers?
 Civil Engineering Realities  June 05, 2020  0
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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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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
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SteelEngineering Realities
x % of Steel of Member HOME CIVIL FIELD  CONSTRUCTION PLANNING
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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
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timesEngineering
of
Plinth area. Realities HOME CIVIL FIELD  CONSTRUCTION PLANNING

3
 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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2
 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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