MODULE 1

SPECIFICATIONS
SPECIFICATIONS
• Specifies or describes the nature and class of work,
materials to be used in work, workmanship, etc
• Important for execution of work
• Cost of work depends on specifications
• Should be clear, clauses arranged in same order of
execution
General specifications
• General specification is a very short description of
different parts of work specifying materials, proportions,
quality, nature of work, class of work etc. in general terms.
• It serves as a guide to prepare the approximate estimated
cost of work.
• Gives a general idea of the whole building or structure
• This does not form a part of contract document.
 GENERAL SPECIFICATION OF A FIRST CLASS BUILDING
i) FOUNDATION & PLINTH
Foundation & plinth shall be of I-class brickwork in 1:6 cement mortar over 1:4:8 cement
concrete.

ii) DAMP PROOF COURSE

DPC shall be 25 mm thick cement concrete (1:1.5:3), mixed with one kg of Impermo (or
any other specified water proofing material) per bag of cement with two coats of bitumen.

ii) SUPERSTRUCTURE
Superstructure shall be of I class brickwork with 1:6 cement mortar.
Lintels over doors & windows shall be of R.C.C.

iv) ROOFING
Roof shall of 100mm thick R.C.C. slab (1:2:4) with 100mm lime terracing above over
R.C.C. slab as required. Height of room shall not be less than 3.5m.
v) FLOORING
Drawing room, dining room floors shall be of mosaic. Flooring done over PCC 7.5cm
thick

vi) FINISHING
Inside & outside shall be 12mm cement mortar plaster (1:8). Inside shall be distempered
over 2 coats of white wash. Outside shall be snowcem washed two coats over one coat of
whitewash.

vii)DOORS AND WINDOWS

Frames shall be seasoned teak wood and shutters shall be 40mm panelled glazed. All
fittings shall be of brass. All wooden & grills shall be painted with enamel paint over one
coat of priming. Window shall be provided with iron grill.

viii) MISCELLANEOUS
Rain water pipe shall be of cast iron. Building shall be provided with Ist class sanitary
and water fittings & electrical installation.
GENERAL SPECIFICATION OF MODERN ROAD
GENERAL SPECIFICATION OF MODERN ROAD
i) SUBGRADE
Subgrade shall be consolidated and compacted either manually or using
machinery with a camber of 1 in 60.
ii) SOLING
Soling shall be 300mm wider than the metalled width of road surface and shall
consist of either - overburnt bricks laid flat or on edge well packed and joints filled up with
sand and the surface blinded with 23mm thick earth and lightly rolled with roller or - split
stone boulders 150mm thick laid well packed and the surface blinded with earth and rolled
with roller.
iii) INTER COAT
Inter coat shall be stone ballast or overburnt brick ballast of 120mm thick layer and
consolidated and compacted by road roller to 80mm.
iv) TOP COAT
Top coat shall be stone ballast laid in 120mm thick layer and consolidated and
compacted to 80mm by road roller.
v) FIRST COAT OF BITUMINOUS PAINTING
First coat of bituminous painting shall be with asphalt or Road Tar no. 3 and stone grit
of 20mm and down at 220kg of Asphalt and 0.75cum of stone grit per 100 sq.m.

vi) SECOND COAT OF BITUMINOUS PAINTING

Second coat of bituminous painting shall be Asphalt or Tar no 3-A and stone grit of
12mm and down at 120 kg. of Asphalt and 0.75 cum of stone grit per 100 sq.m.

Vii) BRICK EDGING

Brick edging with straight over burnt bricks shall be provided on both sides.

Viii) If traffic is heavy, the wearing surfaces shall be provided with bituminous carpet or cement
concrete in place of bituminous painting.

ix) If subgrade is soft or weak, a thick sub-base of cheap and interior materials well compacted
shall be used.
DETAILED SPECIFICATIONS
§ is a detailed description and expresses the requirements in detail.
§ detailed specification of an item of work specifies the qualities and
quantities of materials, the proportion of mortar, workmanship, the
method of preparation and execution and the methods of
measurement.
§ detailed specifications of different items of work are prepared
separately, and describe what the works should be and how they shall
be executed and constructed.
§ detailed specifications if prepared properly are very helpful for the
execution of work.
 Detailed Specifications- Earthwork in excavation
• Excavation
• Dug to exact width, sides vertical, excavated earth placed within 1m of the
edge of the trench
• If soil is not good, sides sloped or protected with timber shoring
• Finish of trench
• Bottom shall be perfectly levelled longitudinally and transversely
• Sides dressed perfectly vertical from bottom
• Bed –lightly watered and well rammed
• Finds
• Any treasure and valuables or materials found- property of government
• Water in foundation
• If water accumulates in trench should be pumped without any extra payment
• Trench filling
• After construction of foundation, remaining portion of trench shall be filled
in layers of 15cm and watered and rammed
• Measurement
• In cum (cubic metre)- for rectangular trench- l x b x h
• (h- measured from ground level)
Cement Concrete (1:2:4)
• Materials
• Proportion
• Mixing
• Slump
• Formwork
• Laying
• Curing
 Cement Concrete (1:2:4)
• Materials
• Aggregates- inert materials and should be clean, dense, hard, sound, durable,
non-absorbent and capable of developing good bond with mortar
• Coarse aggregate
• Hard broken stone of granite, free from dirt and foreign matter
• 20mm size and down and retained in 5mm mesh and well graded, voids not to exceed 42%
• Fine aggregate
• Coarse sand- hard, sharp and angular grains
• Pass through screen of 5mm
• Clean free from dust, dirt and organic matters (sea sand not to be used)
• Cement
• Fresh Portland cement of standard ISI specifications
• Should have required tensile, compressive stresses and fineness
• Water
• Clean and potable, free from alkaline and acid matters
• Proportion
• 1:2:4 as cement : sand: stone by volume (unless
specified)
• Min compressive strength- 10N/mm2 on 7 days
• Fine and coarse aggregate shall be measured by
volume with boxes – farma box or gauge box-
30cmx30cmx38cm or 35cmx35cmx28cm –
equivalent to content of one bag of cement (1.2 cu.ft
for 50 kg)
• If sand is damp, compensation required for bulking
of sand
• Mixing
• Hand mixing
• Done in masonry platform or sheet iron tray
• First two boxes of sand and one bag of cement mixed thoroughly
and this dry mix shall be placed over a stack of 4 boxes of stone
aggregate
• Whole mix turned well to have uniform mix
• Water added gradually @ 25-30 litres per bag of cement to give a
plastic mix of required workability & w/c ratio
• Thoroughly turned atleast 3 times to give a uniform concrete
• Machine mixing
• Aggregates (coarse and fine) and cement put into concrete mixer
• Machine revolved to mix materials dry and then water added
gradually
• 1.5 to 2 minutes rotation
• Mixed concrete unloaded on masonry platform or sheet iron
• Output of concrete mixer-15-20 mix per hour
• Slump
• Regular slump test to be carried out to maintain
consistency
• Formwork
• Centering and shuttering provided as per standard
specifications before laying concrete
• To confine, to keep, to support concrete in position
• Inner surface oiled
• Deshuttering to be done as specified in standards
• Laying
• Laid gently in layers not exceeding 15cm
• Compacted by pinning with rods and tamping or
with mechanical vibrators
• Curing
• After 2 hours of laying when concrete has begun
to harden, it shall be kept damp by covering with
wet gunny bags or wet sand for 24 hours
• Cured by flooding by making mud walls
 Reinforced Cement Concrete
• Steel
• Mild steel or deformed steel of standard specification
used
• Free from corrosion, loose rust scales, oil, grease,
paints, etc
• Bars hooked and bent accurately and placed in
position as per design and drawing and bound
together tight with 20SWG (0.914mm) annealed
steel wire at the point of their intersection
• Joints are to be avoided, in case provided, overlap -
40d and staggered
• Side and bottom cover- concrete cover block (1:2
CM; 2.5cmx2.5cm in section)
• During laying and compacting reinforcing bars should
not move from position
• Centering and shuttering
• Made with timber or steel plate close
and tight to prevent leakage of mortar
• Necessary props, bracings and wedges-
sufficiently strong and stable; not to
yield

prop
• Proportion- as specified
• Materials
• Coarse agg- max size -5mm less than the min clear distance between
main bars or 5 mm less than min cover to rft whichever is smaller
• Laying-
• In vertical members- 1m per hour; preferably to be concreted to full
height to avoid construction joints
• Time between mixing and placing- not greater than 20 min
• Compaction- done within 30 min
• Expansion joints-45 m
• Finishing
• If plastering to be done( less than 6mm thick)- apply immediately
after removal of formwork when concrete is green
• Measurement- cum; no deduction for volume of steel, steel is
measured in kg
 Damp Proof Course
• Materials
• Cement: Coarse sand: Coarse aggregate- 1:1.5:3 +2% impermo
• Mixing
• First cement+water proofing compound, then add dry sand and then coarse aggregate.
• Finally add water. Mix thoroughly
• Laying
• Level of surface checked longitudinally and transversely
• Side shuttering using wooden batten 2.5cm thick
• After 2 hours of laying surface of concrete made rough to form a key with the wall above
• Avoid joints
• Curing- 7 days
• Painting with asphalt
• 2 coats-
• First coat @1.5kg/m2 when concrete is dry and it is blinded with coarse sand
• Second coat @ 1kg/m2 and blinded with coarse sand
Brickwork First class
• Bricks
• Mortar
• Soaking of bricks
• Laying
• Curing
• Protection
• Measurement
• Bricks-
• First class of standard specifications
• Made of good brick earth
• Thoroughly burnt
• Deep cherry red or copper colour
• Regular in shape, sharp edge
• Emit clear ringing sound when struck
• Free from cracks, chips, flaws and lumps of any kind
• Shall not absorb water more than 1/6 of their weight after one hour of
soaking by immersing in water
• Min crushing strength of 105 kg/cm2 (10MPa)
• Mortar
• Cement- fresh OPC
• Sand- sharp, clean, free from organic and foreign matter
• For rich mortar, use coarse or medium sand
• Proportion- 1:3 to 1:6 as specified
• Fresh mixed mortar shall be used
• Mixing to be done only for 1 hour’s work
• Soaking of bricks
• For 12 hours before use until air bubbling cease, by
submerging in water
• Laying
• Laid in English bond unless specified
• Every course shall be truly horizontal and in plumb
• Vertical joints of consecutive course shall not come
directly over one another
• Bricks laid with frogs upward except in top course
• Not laid for more than 1 m height at a time
• All joints shall be raked and faces of wall cleaned at
the end of day’s work
• Curing
• Atleast 10 days after laying
• At end of day’s work, top of walls flooded with water by
making small weak mortar edging
• Protection
• Brickwork shall be protected from the effect of sun, rain, frost,
etc during construction and until such time it’s green and
likely to get damaged
• Measurement
• In cu.m
• Various thicknesses- 10cm, 20cm , 30 cm
• Rate shall be for complete work including scaffolding and all
tools and plants
 Plastering
• Joints of brickwork raked to a depth of 18mm and wall surface
washed and kept wet for 2 days before plastering
• Thickness- 12mm applied in 2 or 3 coats
• To ensure uniform thickness, patches of 15cmx15cm, 1 m apart shall be
applied first to act as a guide (bull mark)
• Mortar shall be dashed and pressed over the surface and
brought to a smooth and uniform surface by means of float and
trowel
• External plastering from top to down
• Ceiling plaster done before wall plastering
• Kept wet for 10 days
• Test with straight edge and plumb bob
• Proportions: 1:3, 1:4, 1:5, 1:6 for wall and 1:3 for ceiling
METHODS OF MEASUREMENT
• Dimensions shall be measured to the nearest 0.01metre (i.e.
1cm)
• Areas shall be measured to the nearest 0.01sq.m (i.e. 0.1sft)
• Volumes shall be measured to the nearest 0.01cu.m (i.e. 0.1cft)
• Principle of units:
• Mass, voluminous and thick works shall be taken in cubic unit
or volume
• Shallow, thin and surface work- in area
• Long and thin work- in linear or running unit
• Piece work, job work- in number
For building
• Earthwork- cum
• Concrete- cum (no deductions for openings upto 0.1 sqm)
• Expansion joints- in running metre
• DPC- sqm
• Brickwork- cum
• Stone masonry- cum
• Doors and window shutters – sqm
• Door and window frames- cum
• Steel and iron work- weight in kg or quintal
• Roof covering, flooring, plastering, painting, waterproofing- sqm
• Sanitary pipes – in running metre
• Fittings and appliance- number
For roads
• Metal collection – cum
• Road metal consolidation- cum
• Tar and bitumen road- sqm
• Cement concrete road- cum