What are Specifications?

Specifications describe the nature and the class of the work, materials to be used in the
work, workmanship etc. and is very important for the execution of the work. The cost of a
work depends much on the specifications. Specifications should be clear.

Types of Specifications

Purpose of giving Specifications

 The cost of an unit quantity of work is governed by its specifications.
 Specification of a work is required to describe the quality and quantity of different
materials required for a construction work and is one of the essential contract
documents.
 This also specifies the workmanship and the method of doing the work. Thus
specification of a work serves as a guide to a supervising staff of a contractor as well
as to the owner to execute the work to their satisfaction.
 A work is carried out according to its specification and the contractor is paid for the
same. Any change in specification changes the tendered rate.
 As the rate of work is based on the specification, a contractor can calculate the rates of
various items of works in tender with his procurement rates of materials and labour.
Thus tender rate without specification of works is baseless, incomplete and invalid.
 Specification is necessary to specify the equipment tools and plants to be engaged for
a work and thus enables to procure them beforehand.
 The necessity of specification is to verify and check the strength of materials for a work
involved in a project.
Types of Specifications
1. General Specifications
2. Detailed Specifications
General Specifications
In general specifications, nature and class of works and names of materials that should be
used are described. Only a brief description of each and every item is given. It is useful for
estimating the project. The general specifications do not form a part of contract document.

Detailed Specifications
The detailed specifications form a part of a contract document. They specify the qualities,
quantities and proportions of materials and the method of preparation and execution for a
particular item of works in a project. The detailed specifications of the different items of the
work are prepared separately and they describe what the work should be and how they
shall be executed. While writing the detailed specifications, the same order sequence as the
work is to be carried out is to be maintained.
Specifications for RCC Construction | Building Estimating and Costing

Most of the constructions of various types of buildings are RCC constructions. In this article,
we are going to discuss in detail about the specifications that are to be necessarily given for
carrying out RCC (reinforced Cement Concrete) constructions.

RCC specifications

RCC Specifications
 Shuttering shall be done using seasoned wooden boards of thickness not less than
30mm.
 Surface contact with concrete shall be free from adhering grout, nails, splits and other
defects.
 All the joints are perfectly closed and lined up.
 The shuttering and framing is sufficiently braced.
 Nowadays timber shuttering is replaced by steel plates.
 All the props of approved sizes are supported on double wedges and when taken out,
these wedges are eased and not knocked out.
 All the framework is removed after 21 days of curing without any shocks or vibrations.
 All reinforcement bars conform IS specifications and are free from rust, grease oil etc.
 The steel grills are perfectly as per detailed specifications.
 The covers to concrete are perfectly maintained as per code.
 Bars of diameter beyond 25mm diameter are bent when red hot.
 The materials proportion should be as per the specifications of the concrete.
Number of Cement bags required for a specific cement concrete ratios
 For cement concrete of ratio 1:1:2(1 cement:1sand/coarse sand:2graded stone
aggregate) require 11no bags of 50kg.
 For cement concrete of ratio 1:1.5:3 require 7.8no bags of 50kg.
 For cement concrete of ratio 1:2:4 require 6 no bags of 50kg.
 For cement concrete of ratio 1:3:6 require 4.25no bags of 50kg.
 For cement concrete of ratio 1:4:8 require 3.2 no bags of 50kg.
 For cement concrete of ratio 1:5:10 require 2.50 no bags of 50kg.
 For cement concrete of ratio 1:6:12 require 2.25 no bags of 50kg.
Specifications for Brick masonry in Cement Mortar

Brick Masonry with Cement Mortar

Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by
mortar; the term masonry can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of
masonry construction are brick, stone such as marble, granite, travertine, limestone,
concrete block, glass block and tile. Masonry is generally a highly durable form of
construction. Brick masonry construction involves use of high quality materials in
construction. Use of low grade materials in construction or mortar mix in inappropriate ratio
can affect the quality of construction.

Brick Masonry in Cement Mortar

Specifications for Brick masonry in Cement Mortar

 The bricks shall be of first class, regular in shape, size and colour.
 The bricks should be free from flaws, cracks and lumps of any kind.
 Shall have minimum crushing strength 10.5N/mm2.
 The bricks shall not absorb the water more than one sixth of the weight of the brick.
 The sand used shall be medium coarse, clean, sharp, free from clay, mica and other
organic matter.
 The cement used shall satisfy the requirement of Bureau of Indian Standard.
 The mortar is designated in specified proportion of cement and sand. The materials are
weighed or measured and mixed on watertight platform after allowing bulkage of sand.
 Bricks before laying shall be thoroughly soaked in water.
 The bricks laid truly horizontal in course with frogs upwards.
 The brickwork shall be raised 1m in height at a strength all round the building.
 Only fresh mortar within ½ hour for cement mortar, the time of adding water shall be
used.
 During rains, no brickwork is carried out when special arrangements are made.
 The brickwork shall be kept wet for atleast 10 days
Specifications for Coursed Rubble Stone (CRS) Masonry

Coursed Rubble Masonry

Masonry is affected by the use of low grade materials that is in case of stone masonry, use
of low grade stones, improperly cut stones, chipped off stones etc. The mortar mix should
follow a specific standard for the proper bonding between the joints of Course Rubble
Masonry. Therefore, specifications have to be given for the materials used, the laying
technique, Bond or Through stones, Quoins and curing – for the ultimate strengthening of
the final masonry work.

Specifications for Coursed Rubble Stone (CRS) Masonry

Material Specifications
Stone shall be hard, sound, free from decay and weathering. Stones with porous matter or
with boulder skin shall be rejected. The size of stones shall not be less than 15cm in any
direction.

Cement and sand for cement mortar or lime and surkhi for lime mortar shall be of standard
specification.

Laying Technique specified

All the stones shall be thoroughly wetted before laying. Every course of stone shall be
hammer dressed and laid truly horizontal and every vertical joint shall be truly vertical.
Faces shall be accurately squared and each face joint shall be dressed at right angles. The
face stones shall be laid in alternate headers and stretchers fashion. The masonry shall
shall be carried up regularly and true to plumb. The thickness of joints shall not exceed
12mm.

Bond or through stones

The stones going through in the walls shall be well distributed by arranging them in a
staggered fashion in successive courses. The intervals of through stones shall not be less
than 1.5m in each course. For walls upto 60cm thickness, a through stone shall extend from
one face of the wall to the other.
Laying of Quoins
Corner stones or quoins shall be dressed to correct angle. The short bed of the stone shall
be at least equal to height. The quoins shall be laid with header and stretcher in alternate
layers.

Curing Method
The work shall be protected from rain or sun while it is green. At the end of the day’s work,
the top surface of the walls shall be kept flooded so that it acquires the required strength.
The masonry shall be kept moist on all the faces for at least 7 days.
Specifications for Plain Cement Concrete (PCC)

Plain Cement Concrete (PCC) is a construction material generally used as a binding

materials and is composed of cement, (commonly Portland Cement) and other cementitious
materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate (generally a coarse aggregate made
of gravels or crushed rocks such as limestone or granite, plus a fine aggregate such as
sand), water, and chemical admixtures.

for Plain Cement Concrete (PCC)

Materials Specifications
Aggregate shall be of invert materials and should be clean, dense, hard, sound, durable,
non-absorbent and capable of developing good bond with mortar.
Coarse aggregate shall be of hard broken stone of granite or similar stone, free from dust,
dirt and other foreign matters. The stone ballast shall be of 20mm size and smaller. All the
coarse material should be retained in a 5mm square mesh and should be well graded such
that the voids do not exceed 42%.
Fine aggregate shall be of coarse sand consisting of hard, sharp and angular grains and
shall pass through a screen of 5mm square mesh. Sand shall be of standard specifications,
clean and free from dust, dirt and organic matter. Sea sand shall not be used.
Cement shall be fresh Portland cement of standard ISI specifications and shall have
the required tensile and compressive stresses and fineness.
Water shall be clean and free from alkaline and acid matters and suitable for drinking
purposes.
Proportion Specifications
1:2:4 (cement : sand : stone ballast) by volume when specified. Minimum compressive
strength of concrete of 1:2:4 proportion shall be 140 kg/cm2 in 7 days.

Hand mixing
Mixing shall be done on masonry platform or sheet iron tray.

Machine mixing
Stone ballast, sand and cement shall be put into cement concrete mixer to have the
required proportions.

Slump
Regular slump test should be carried out to control the addition of water and to maintain the
required consistency. A slump of 7.5cm to 10cm may be allowed for building work.

Formwork
Formwork centering and shuttering shall be provided as required as per the standard
specification before laying concrete to confine to support or to keep the concrete in position.
The inner surface of shuttering shall be oiled to prevent concrete sticking to it.

Laying Technique
Concrete shall be laid gently (not thrown) in layers not exceeding 15cm and compacted by
pinning with rods and tamping with wooden tampers or with mechanical vibrating machine
until a dense concrete is obtained.

Curing Method
After about two hours of laying of concrete, when the concrete has begun to harden, it shall
be kept damp by covering with wet gunny bags or wet sand for 24 hours.
Lime concrete in foundation – detailed specification
Materials- All materials shall be per standard specification. Coarse aggregate shall be hard, well-burnt or
over burnt brick ballast of 40mm gauge. It shall be deep cherry red or copper colour and shall be clean,
free from dust, dirt and other foreign matters. It shall be homogeneous in texture and roughly cubical in
shape. Ballast which appears porous or shows signs of saltpetre shall not be used. Brick ballast shall
pass through square mass of 52.5m and not more than 20 per cent pass through a mesh of 25mm. any
rejected material shall be removed from site of work within 24 hours.

Fine aggregate shall be of surkhi or sand or cinder as specified and clean and free from dust, dirt, and
foreign matters. Surkhi shall be made of well burnt brick or brick bats (not over burnt) and shall pass
through a sieve of 2.5 meshes per sq cm (144 meshes per sq in). Srkhi as preferable better concrete.

Lime shall be white fat lime (unless otherwise specified) and shall be freshly burnt and free from ashes
and other foreign matters. Lime shall be slacked at site of work and screened through a sieve of three
meshes to a cm (8 meshes to an inch).

Proportion- The concrete shall consist of 1 cu m of brick ballast, 0.32 cu m of surkhi (sand or cinder) and
0.16 cu m of white lime in the proportion of 100: 32: 16 by volume.

Mixing- Mixing shall be done on a clean waterlight, masonry platform of sufficient size. Brick ballast shall
be staked in a rectangular layer of uniform thickness usually 30cm (12”) high and well soaked with clean
water a period of at least three hours.

Lime and surkhi shall be measured with wooden box in the proportion of 1:2 and mixed thoroughly dry to
have uniform colour. The dry mix of lime and surkhi shall be spread over the staked ballast required
thickness to give the specified proportion. Then material is mixed at least three times. Clean water is then
added slowly for mixing purpose. Concrete shall be mixed only for day’s work, old and slate concrete
shall not be used. For big work the mixing shall be done by machine. The water shall be added slowly to
the required quantity and the mixing shall be continued for at least one minute, till a mix of uniform colour
and workable consistency is obtain and should be such that the ballast do not separate from the mortar.

Laying and compacting- Bed of foundation trench shall be lightly sprinkled with water before concrete is
laid. Concrete shall be laid slowly and gently (not thrown) in layer of not more than 20cm (8”) and
thoroughly consolidated to 15cm (6”) with 6kg (12lbs) iron rammer. During consolidation concrete should
be kept free from earth, dirt, leaves and other foreign material. The consolidation shall be checked by
water test, by digging hole about 7.5cm dia. and 7.5cm deep in the concrete and filling water. The water
level should not sink more than 1.25cm in 15min if concrete has been well –consolidated.

Joint and consecutive layers- When joint in a layer of concrete are unavoidable, the end shall be
sloped at an angle of 30 and junction of different layer shall break joint. In laying upper layer of concrete,
the lower surface shall be made rough and cleaned and watered before upper layer is laid.

Curing- Concrete after compaction shall be wet for a period of at least 7 days and no masonary shall be
constructed upon it during this period. The curing shall be done by spreding gunny bags or sand or
kipping them wet by water-can at regular interval.

Measurement- Measurement shall be taken in cu m(cu ft) for the finished concrete. The length and
breadth shall be measured correct to 1 cm and depth correct to 0.5 cm. the rate shall be for the complete
for the complete work including the cost of form work if required, and all tools and plants.

Detail specification for lime concrete in roof terracing

Material- All materials shall be of standard specifications. Coarse aggregate shall be of well burnt or over
burnt brick ballast of 25 mm gauge. It shall be deep cherry red or copper and shall be clean, free from
dust, dirt and other foreign matters. It shall be homogeneous in texture and roughly cubical in shape.
Ballast which appears porous or shows signs of saltpetre shall not be used. Brick ballast shall be such as
to pass through a square mesh of 37.5 cm and not more than 20% shall pass through a mesh of 20cm.
any rejected material shall be removed from site of work within 24 hours.

Fine aggregate shall be surkhi, clean free from dust, dirt and foreign matters. Surkhi shall be made from
well burnt bricks or brick bats (not overburnt) and shall pass through a screen of 25 meshes per sq
cm(144 meshes per sq in).

Lime shall be white fat lime shall be freshly burnt and free from ashes and other foreign matters. Lime
shall be slaked at site of work and screened through a sieve of 3 meshes to a cm (8 meshes to an inch).

Proportion- Concrete shall consist of 1 cu m brick ballast, 0.36 cu m of Surkhi and 0.18 cu m white lime
(proportion 100 : 36 : 18 by volume).

Mixing- Mixing shall be similar to lime concrete in foundation.

Laying and consolidation- Surface shall be lightly sprinkled with water and then concrete shall be laid
slowly and gently (not thrown) in layers so as to have the required slope and specified thickness after
complication. The concrete shall then be lightly rammed with 6kg rammer and during preliminary ramming
the surface shall then be perfectly levelled by means of trowel, straight edge and sprite level. The
concrete with wooden ‘thapis’ and moving forward and backward covering the whole surface. The beating
shall continuous for at least 7 days until the concrete is thoroughly compacted and until the ‘thapis’
rebound from the surface when struct on the concrete. Special care shall be taken to consolidate the
concrete properly at the junction with the parapet wall and the junctions shall be rounded.
When beating is in progress, the surface of the concrete shall be frequently sprinkled with a mixer of lime
molasses and boiled solution of ‘bael’ fruit for water proofing. Beal fruit solution shall be prepared by
boiling 2kg of bael fruit in 100-130 lit of water and to this solution after cooling 3.5kg of molasses (gur)
and the required quantity of lime shall be mixed.

Finishing- As soon as beating has been completed the mortar that has come to top shall be softened by
the addition of lime, “molasses” and “beal fruit” solution and smoothened by rubbing and pressing with a
trowel or float to a fine polish. No plaster shall be use on any account for finishing the surface. The
finishing surface shall have a minimum slope 1:50 and max slope of 1:36 towards the rain water outlet.
For every 40 sq m of roof area, 100 mm dia rainwater pipe shall be provided.

Curing- The concrete shall be kept wet for a fortnight. The wetting should be done by covering with straw
or sand and watering frequently by water can or dividing into squares by mud kiaries which shall be kept
flooded with water.

Measurement- The measurement shall be taken for the finished work of superficial area in sq m stating
the avg thickness. The avg thickness shall be measured correct to 6mm and length and breadth shall be
measured correct to 1cm. No deduction in measurement shall be made for opening up to 0.4 sq m and
extra payment shall not be made for extra material or labour involved in forming such opening. For
opening exceeding 0.4 sq m deduction will be made made in measurement but extra payment shall not
be made made for material and labour involved in forming such opening. Rate shall be for the finished
work including all tools and plant.

Detailed specification for earthwork in excavation

Excavation- Foundation trenches shall be dug out to the exact width of foundation concrete and the side
shall be vertical. If the soil is not good and does not permit vertical sides, the sides should be sloped back
or protected with timber shoring. Excavated earth shall not be placed within 1m (3’) of the edge of the
trench.

Finish of trench- The bottom of foundation trench shall be perfectly levelled both longitudinally and
transversely and the sides of the trench shall be dressed perfectly vertical from bottom up to the least
thickness of loose concrete may be laid to the exact width as per design. The bed of the trench shall be
lightly watered and well rammed. Excess digging if done through mistake shall be filled with concrete at
the expense of the contractor. Soft or defective spot shall be drug out and removed filled with concrete or
with stabilized soil. If rock or boulder are found during excavation, these should be removed and the bed
of the trenches shall be levelled and made hard by consolidating the earth. Foundation concrete shall not
be laid before the inspection and approval of the trench by the engineer-in-charge.

Finds- Any treasure and valuables or materials found during the excavation, shall be property of the
Government.

Water in foundation- Water, if any accumulates in the trench should bailed or pumped out without any
extra payment and necessary precaution shall be taken to prevent surface water to enter into the trench.

Trench filling- After the concrete has been laid masonry shall be constructed the remaining portion of the
trench shall be filled up with earth in layer of 15cm (6”) and watered and well rammed. The earth filling
shall be free from rubbish and refuse matters and all clods shall be broken before filling. Surplus earth not
required, shall be removed and disposed and site shall be levelled and dressed.

Measurement- the measurement of the excavation shall be taken in cu m (cu ft) as for rectangular trench
bottom width of concrete multiplied by the vertical depth of foundation from general level and multiplied by
the length of trenches even through the contractor might have excavated with sloping side for his
convenience. Rate shall be for complete work for 30m (100 ft) lead and 1.50m (5’) lift, including all tools
and plants required for the completion of the works. For extra lead of 30m and extra lift of 1.5m separate
extra rate is provided.

Excavation in saturated soil- excavation in saturated soil or below sub-soil water level shall be taken a
separate item and shall be carried out in the same manner as above. Pumping and bailing out of water
and removal of slush shall be included in the item. Timbering of the sides of the trench if required shall be
taken under a separate item and paid separately.