Thumb rules play a most crucial role while taking quick decisions on site.

Thumb rules enable you to calculate the solution

using a simple mathematical formula and make smart decisions whenever needed. Remember, thumb rules never give the
accurate results, but you can use them for approximate results. There are many thumb rules which we apply in construction.
Here I am discussing the most frequently used Thumb rules on site.

Thumb rule is an approximate & comparing method. In thumb rules, the units are not the same when we compare to get the
results. So never consider units while performing thumb rule.

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Thumb rule to calculate the Concrete Volume with respect to area:

The Concrete Volume of 0.038m3 of concrete is used for each Square Feet of Plan area
Example:-
From below fig: Plan Area = 40 x 20 = 800SFT

The plan area is 800SFT then the total volume of concrete required = 800 x 0.038m 3 = 30.4m3

You can learn more about Concrete Volume calculation

Thumb rule to calculate the Steel quantity required for Slab, Beams, Footings & Columns:
For Residential buildings 4.5Kgs-4.75Kgs /SFT

For Commercial buildings 5.0Kgs-5.50Kgs/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.
 Structural Member Percentage of Steel

Slab 1% of total volume of concrete

Beam 2% of of total volume of concrete

Column 2.5% of total volume of concrete

Footings 0.8% of total volume of concrete

Example:
How to calculate the steel quantity of slab having the Length, width, and depth of the slab is 5m x 4m x 0.15m

Step 1: Calculate the Volume of Concrete

Total Volume of Concrete for above given Slab is 5 x 4 x 0.15 = 3m3

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 Steel x % of Steel of Member

Steel quantity required for above slab = 3 x 7850 x 0.01 = 235Kgs

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.
Thumb rule to calculate the shuttering required is 6 times the quantity of concrete or 2.4 times of Plinth area.

Suppose the concrete quantity is 0.5m3 then the shuttering area required is 0.5 x 6 = 3m2

Components of Shuttering:-
Shuttering Ply, Battens, Nails are components of Shuttering.

Shuttering Ply Quantity calculation:

The shuttering Ply has a length, width & depth of 2.44 x 1.22 x 0.012

The No. of Shuttering Ply sheets = 0.22 times of Shuttering

Suppose the area of shuttering required = 3m

Then the Shuttering Ply required = 0.22 x 3 = 0.66m2

Battens Quantity Calculation:

Shuttering batten usually have a length & width of 75mm x 40mm.

Batten Quantity = 19.82 x No. of Ply Sheets
if the construction requires 25 Ply sheets, the total quantity of Battens are 19.82 x 25 = 495 Battens

Nails & Binding Wire Quantity in Shuttering:

75gms of Nails are used for 1m2 of Shuttering
75gms of Binding wire is consumed for every 1m 2 of Shuttering.

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 15m2 of shuttering 1 litre of shuttering oil is consumed.

Example :
15m2 is total area of shuttering, then Shuttering oil required = 0.065 x 15 = 0.975 lts
For Accurate Shuttering Area Calculation, you can check here Shuttering area required for slabs, columns, Beams,
Footings
Thumb rule for Cement, Sand, Coarse Aggregate Quantity in Different grades of Concrete :

Concrete Mix Cement Quantity Coarse Aggregate Quantity Fine Aggregate Quantity

M5 (1:5:10) 2.82 Bags 0.98m3 0.49m3

M7.5(1:4:8) 3.48 Bags 0.97m3 0.48m3

M10(1:3:6) 4.50 Bags 0.90m3 0.45m3

M15(1:2:4) 6.60 Bags 0.88m3 0.44m3

M20(1:1.5:3) 8.40 Bags 0.84m3 0.42m3

Note: 1 bag of cement = 50Kgs

For Accurate calculation refer to Concrete Mix design for Different grades of concrete
Thumb rule for Cement quantity in Brickwork, Cement Masonry & Plastering work in construction:
Brickwork Thumb rule:

Cement Qty Cement Qty

Brickwork for 1m3
in m3 in Bags

230 mm Brickwork 0.876bags/m3 43.80kgs

115 mm Brickwork 0.218bags/m3 10.90kgs

Cement Masonry Quantity Thumb Rule:

Cement Masonry Type & Mix Cement Qty in Bags Cement Qty in Kgs

200mm in Cement Masonry work of ratio 1:6 0.124Bags/m2 6.2Kgs/m2

150mm in Cement Masonry work of ratio 1:6 0.093Bags/m2 4.65Kgs/m2

 Cement Masonry Type & Mix Cement Qty in Bags Cement Qty in Kgs

200mm in Cement Masonry work of ratio 1:4 0.206Bags/m 2 10.3Kgs/m2

150mm in Cement Masonry work of ratio 1:4 0.144Bags/m 2 7.2Kgs/m2

100mm in Cement Masonry work of ratio 1:4 0.103Bags/m 2 5.15Kgs/m2

Plastering Quantity Thumb Rule:

Type of Plastering Cement Qty in Bags Cement Qty in Kgs

Rough Plastering 0.09Bags/m2 4.5Kgs/m2

Internal Wall Plastering 0.09Bags/m2 4.5Kgs/m2

Duct Plastering 0.09Bags/m2 4.5Kgs/m2

External Wall plastering 0.175Bags/m2 8.75Kgs/m2

Stucco Plastering 0.175Bags/m2 8.75Kgs/m2

Lathan Plastering 0.55Bags/m2 27.5Kgs/m2

Quantity of Cement, Sand & Aggregate used in 1m3 of Concrete | Concrete Mix Design

Concrete Mix Design:-

Concrete is a composite mixture which consists of Cement, Sand and Aggregate. Concrete mix design is the procedure for
finding the right quantities of these materials to achieve the desired strength. Accurate concrete mix design makes concrete
construction economical. Large constructions such as Bridges, dams requires huge amount of concrete, using the right
quantity of constituents make the structure economical. In order to calculate or find the right amount of cement, sand and
aggregate required in 1m3 of concrete; you need to know about different grades of concrete.
As per IS456:2000, Different grades of concrete are classified into M5, M7.5, M10, M15 etc., whereas M stands for Mix and
the number behind M stands for Characteristic Compressive strength(fck) of the concrete in N/mm 2 @28 days when
checked with 15cm×15cm×15cm cube in direct compression test.

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Concrete Mix design of M5, M7.5, M10, M15, M20, M25, M30 and higher grades of concrete is calculated as below:
The procedure for finding the different grades of concrete mixes are same. The below mentioned method can be applied to
any grade of concrete by changing the values. To make ease in understanding we are finding the Concrete mix design of
M20 grade concrete.

The Concrete mix ratio for M20 grade of concrete is 1:1.5:3 that mean 1 part of cement, 1.5 part of sand (fine aggregate) and
3 parts of aggregate (crushed stone) in volume and then batched for mixing. To know the Concrete Mix Design follow below:-

Mix Design (M) = Cement: Sand :Aggregate

As per BS 8500-2 British/European standards The grade of concrete is denoted as C10, C15, C20,C25, etc., ‘C’ which
means ‘Concrete Strength class’ and number behind C refers to characteristic Compressive strength of Concrete in
N/mm2 @ 28 days when tested with the 15cm dia & 30cm height cylinder in direct compression test
The grade of concrete is also denoted as C16/20, C20/25, C25/30, etc., which means Concrete Strength Class (C) the
number behind C refers to Compressive strength of Concrete in N/mm2 when tested with Cylinder / Cube.

Remember : 1MPA = N/mm2

Different grades of concrete :
Different grades of concrete has different Concrete Mix proportions which means different concrete mix ratios. As
Per IS456:2000, the Concrete mix design has the following concrete mix proportions :-

Characteristic
Compressive strength of
Type of Concrete Concrete Grade Mix Ratio
Concrete
@28Days in N/mm2

Ordinary concrete M5 1:5:10 5 N/mm2

M7.5 1:4:8 7.5 N/mm2

M10 1:3:6 10 N/mm2

M15 1:2:4 15 N/mm2

M20 1:1.5:3 20 N/mm2

Standard Concrete M25 1:1:2 25 N/mm2

M30 Design Mix 30 N/mm2

M35 Design Mix 35 N/mm2

M40 Design Mix 40 N/mm2

M45 Design Mix 45 N/mm2

M50 Design Mix 50 N/mm2

High Strength M55 Design Mix 55 N/mm2

Concrete

M60 Design Mix 60 N/mm2

M65 Design Mix 65 N/mm2

M70 Design Mix 70 N/mm2

Different types of Concrete mixes:
Calculation of Quantities of Cement, Sand and Aggregate in 1m 3 of concrete:-
To calculate the individual quantities of cement, sand and aggregate required for 1m 3 assume a nominal mix grade of
concrete such as M20. You can use same method to calculate any grade of concrete.
Concrete Mix Design for M20 Grade Concrete:-
Now let us consider M20 grade concrete.

As per IS456:2000, M20 Grade concrete proportion is = 1 : 1.5 : 3

We must add all the volume to know the total volume = 1 + 1.5 + 3 = 5.5

As we know that during concreting when we place wet concrete, it gets harden after certain standard time. Considering the
same it had be decided upon by Civil design Engineers to take a factor of safety ranging from 1.54 to 1.57 to counter that
shrinkage.

i.e. volume of dry Concrete = 1.54 to 1.57 times Volume of wet concrete

I am Assuming 1.57 as factor of safety

So total volume of concrete required is 1.57 m3
Calculation of Volume of Cement in 1m3 of Concrete:-
To calculate the Quantity of Cement in Concrete the following formula is used.

Volume of Cement

= Cement Cement+Sand+Aggregate x 1.57

For 1m3 of Concrete = 403.2Kgs of Cement is required.

No. of Cement Bags required for 1m3 of Concrete = 403/50 = 8.06 ~ 8 bags
Hence, we require 8 bags of cement for 1m3 of concrete.

Detailed explanation for No. of bags required for 1 cum of cement

Calculation of Volume of Sand (Fine Aggregate) in 1m3 of Concrete:-

The following steps are followed to find the quantity of sand in 1m3 of concrete.
Volume of Sand
= Sand Cement+Sand+Aggregate x 1.57

Sand usually consists of moisture content. It increases the volume of sand (bulking of sand).
For accurate calculation use dry sand or include the effect of bulking as mentioned above in calculation.
Hence we require 672kg of sand for 1 cu.m of concrete.
Calculation of Volume of Coarse Aggregate in 1m3 of Concrete:-
The following formula is used to find the quantity of coarse aggregate in 1m3 of concrete.
Volume of Aggregate

= Aggregate Cement+Sand+Aggregate x 1.57

Density of aggregate may go higher if void spaces decreases. 5mm aggregate has more density when compared with 20mm
size of aggregate

Hence, We require 1326Kg of 20mm aggregate for 1m3 of Concrete.

Amount of Water Required for 1m3 of Concrete:-
For making concrete, required amount of water is added. Water quantity is depending upon the climatic factors and
workability required. We generally maintain 0.35-0.50 of water cement ratio. Remember, above values may change according
to the moisture content present in sand and aggregate.

Cement Required for 1m3 of Concrete = 400Kgs

Assume W/C ratio = 0.50 (50% of cement)
Water required for 1m3 of Concrete. = 400 x 0.50
Amount of Water Required for 1m3 of Concrete = 200kgs = 200 liters
Hence 200 Liters of Water is required for 1m3 of M20 Concrete

Summary: –
8 bags of cement required for 1 cu.m of M20 grade concrete.
672 kg of Sand required for 1 cu.m of M20 grade concrete.
1326 kg of 20mm Aggregate is required for 1 cu.m of M20 grade concrete.
200 litres of water is required for 1 cu.m of M20 grade concrete
Table for Quantity of Cement, Sand, Aggregate, Water required for Different grades of concrete

Concrete Calculator (Concrete Mix Design Automatic Calculator):

Cement. Sand, Aggregate and water calculator for different grades of concrete
Ratio is in terms Cement : Sand : Aggregate. The below calculator works with any grade of concrete
Enter Quantity of Concrete required in m3
Enter individual ratios. M20 grade concrete has ratio of 1:1.5:3 which means 1 part of cement,1.5 part of sand,3 part of
aggregate
Ratio of Cement
Ratio of Sand
Ratio of Aggregate
Enter Water/Cement ratio