MVPS’s College of Architecture, Nashik

QUANTITY SURVEYING & SPECIFICATION WRITING I

FOURTH YEAR B ARCH (2019)

SUBJECT CODE: 4201958(Theory)

Unit 6: Specification writing (MATERIALS &

Workmanship)

Faculty’s
Prof. Name Photograph
Asst Prof. Niketa Kothavale 1.65”X1.85”

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Excavation in Earthwork
EXCAVATION is the preliminary activity of the construction project.
For small buildings, excavation is carried out manually by means of pick axes, crow bars. spades etc. In case of
large buildings and deep excavation, mechanical earth cutting equipment can be used like Blasting , Hydraulic
excavator, tractor / trucks.

SCOPE
The scope of work broadly includes clearing of the site, excavation of foundation trenches, back-filling,
disposal of surplus earth as required including dewatering, shoring and strutting.
Contractor shall provide all tools, labour, equipment and incidentals necessary, required for completion of all
aspects of work covered in these specifications.

TYPES OF SOIL
Contractor shall thoroughly acquaint himself with the types of soil in excavation by an inspection of nature of
the ground at site & scrutiny of the investigation details available with the Consultant

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Excavation in Earthwork
• Before the earthwork is started, the whole area where the work is to be done shall be cleared of grass, roots of
trees and other organic matter.

• The excavation shall be carried out exactly in accordance with the dimensions shown on the drawings or such
other dimensions as the Engineer-in-charge may decide.

• Sides of the trenches shall be vertical and its bottom shall be perfectly levelled, both longitudinally and
transversely. Where the soil is soft, loose or slushy the trench shall be widened by allowing steps on either side or
the sides sloped or shored up.

• During excavation if rocks or rocky soils are found it shall be levelled as far as possible and the small spaces
which are difficult to level shall be filled in with concrete.

• If the excavation is in earth, the bottom of the trenches shall be sprinkled with a little water and rammed. Any
excess digging or any patches of bad soil or hollows shall be removed by placing concrete or any other special
treatment as the Engineer-in-charge decides.

• No material excavated from foundation trenches, shall be placed than one metre to the outer edges of the
excavation.

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Earthwork In excavation of foundation trenches

• Water in trenches must be bailed or pumped out and where it is apprehended that the sides may fall down
arrangement shall be made for adequate timber shoring.

• When it is specified that the work is to be carried out without removing pipes, cables, sewers, etc. all of them shall
be temporarily shored and saved from any damages.

• The materials or valuables found during excavation shall be the property of the Government.

• The cost of all materials and labour required for fencing in and protecting against risk of accidents due to open
excavation shall be provided.

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Lime concrete In foundation -

(a) Materials
(i) Coarse aggregate shall be obtained by breaking good, quality over burnt or well burnt brick bats, must-not be
spongy or with any signs of saltpetre or any coating of foreign materials and homogeneous in texture. The ballast
shall be of more or less cubic in shape, free from dust, dirt and any other foreign matters. It shall pass through
32 mm dia ring and well graded.

(ii) Fine aggregate shall be surki |may also be sand or cinder if specially mentioned, but surki is preferred for better
concrete) made from well burnt first class brick bats ground to pass through a mesh 1.5mm each way and shall be
perfectly clean and free from any foreign matter.

(iii) Lime shall be freshly burnt, slaked and screened before use. The slaking shall be done at site of work. If not
otherwise specified stone lime shall be used.
Besides these the materials that are in use shall be of standard specifications.

(b) Proportioning - Usual proportions of coarse aggregate, surki and lime shall be 100 : 36 : 18 unless otherwise
specified. While measuring the materials by boxes, shaking, ramming or hammering shall not be allowed.

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(c) Mixing - The mixing shall be done by hand or mechanical mixer when so specified. Hand mixing shall be done
on a clean solid water-tight masonry platform of sufficient size to provide ample mixing area.

Lime and surki in the specified quantities shall be mixed dry till of uniform colour and spread over the stacked
ballast. The materials shall then be turned over once without adding water, then at least further three times gradually
adding water so that whole surface of each ballast becomes coated with mortar and the mix becomes plastic to
give a uniform concrete.

d) Placing of concrete : Concrete shall be laid (not thrown) in courses of not more than 20cm thick at a time and
consolidated by rammers, until the layer is 15cm thick.

(e) Joining of concrete : where joints in a layer are unavoidable, the end of the layer shall be sloped off with a long
slope at an angle of 30 degree and thus the successive coarses shall be laid on it with break joint.

(f) Curing : Concrete shall be kept wet with moist gunny bags for at least 7 days and no masonry should be laid
on it within this period.

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CEMENT CONCRETE IN FOUNDATION OR USED AS TUB-GRADE

FOR FLOORING-
(a) Materials :
(1) Coarse aggregate - The aggregate used shall be the hardest available, such as granite, gravel or broken stone as
specially mentioned and free from dust, dirt, soft material, vegetable matter etc. It shall be well graded from
2.5cm down to 10mm. 12% upto 4cm size aggregate is permitted as oversize materials.
(2) Fine aggregate - shall be of coarse sand, consisting of sharp and angular grains and it shall pass through a size of
5.5mm mesh sieve. It shall be clean and free from dust, dirt and organic matters.
Sea sand shall not be used. These shall also follow their standard specifications.
(3) Water - shall be clean, free from alkali, acid and suitable for drinking purposes.

(4) Cement - shall be fresh portland cement and conform to the standard specifications.

(b) Proportioning of concrete - Proportion of cement, sand, and coarse aggregate shall be 1:2:4 or 1:3:6 or 1:4:8 as
specified. Coarse aggregate and sand shall be measured by gauge boxes of suitable size 35x25x40cm while cement
shall be taken by bag weighing 50 kg or a volume of 0’035cum.

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(c) Mixing of concrete : 1. 'Hand mixing' by batches shall be permitted on small works. Normally all structural
concrete of proportion 1:2:4 or 1:3:6 shall be mixed in mixture machine.

2. Machine mixing : The coarse aggregate shall be placed at first which shall be followed by sand and cement and be
thoroughly mixed together dry in the specified proportion in a batch type mechanical mixer unless otherwise
approved. Water will be then gradually added to the required quantity into have the desired water cement ratio.
Mixing shall be continued until there is a uniform distribution of the materials and concrete is uniform in colour
and consistency.

(d) Workability: Workability of concrete shall be checked at frequent intervals. The slump test or where facilities
exist the compaction factor test in accordance with I.S. 1919 - 1957 shall be adopted for this purposes.

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(e) Placing of concrete: Before proceeding to place the concrete, the brick flat soling shall be well wetted and
cleaned.
• Concrete shall not be dropped from a height or hand-led in a manner which will cause separation.

• It shall be laid gently in its permanent position and shall be levelled both transversely and longitudinally.

• Each layer of concrete while being placed, shall be consolidated by mechanical vibration or by punning with
16mm dia. steel rod and tamping with wooden tampers to form a dense material. All surfaces after consolidation
shall be free from air boles, honey combing or any other blemishes.

• Before placing new concrete against the concrete that has already set, the face of the old concrete shall be
cleaned, wetted, roughened and a coating of neat cement grout (1:1) applied thereto.

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First Class Brick work

(a) Materials :

(1) Brick shall be first class of standard specifications, regular in shape and size with sharp edges. They shall be of
uniform deep red cherry or copper colour, free from cracks, chips, flows and lumps of any kind. Dry bricks shall
not absorb more than one-sixth of their weight when immerged in water for one hour. Brick shall have a minimum
crushing strength of 105 kg per sq cm.
(2) For cement mortar, cement shall be fresh portland cement of standard quality. Sand shall be medium coarse,
clean, sharp and free from clay, mica or other organic matter.
(3) For lime mortar, lime shall be slaked and fresh stone lime screened at work site conforming its standard
specification.

(b) Mortar : The brickwork shall be done with the specified mortar (cement or lime) mixing the ingredients in the
specified proportion. Sand shall be measured on the basis of its dry volume. In case of damp sand, its quantity shall
be increased suitable to allow for bulkage. Materials of mortar shall be first mixed dry till of uniform colour on a
solid clean water tight platform and then mixed wet at least three times by adding water gradually and evenly.

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First Class Brick work

c) Bricks before laying : All bricks shall be thoroughly soaked in water by submerging them in clean water for at
least four hours just before use. The wetted bricks shall be staked on a clean platform of wooden planks to avoid any
contact with mud.

(d) Laying : The brick shall be of English bond unless specially mentioned. The brickwork shall be true to line,
plumb and solid through with joints not exceeding 6mm in thickness for cement mortar and 10 mm for lime
mortar. Each coarse of brick shall be laid quite levelled and perfect in bond well bedded with frogs upward and
flushed in sound mortar. No bats shall be permitted except where absolutely required for obtaining the specified bond
or dimensions of different courses. Brickwork shall be carried out together so as to maintain, as far as possible,
uniform height of not more than 1 m at a time.
All mortar joints on the surfaces of walls shall be raked to a depth of 12mm in case where the walls are to be
plastered while the mortar is green and left clean and free from all loose or adherent mortar by brushing.

(e) Curing: The brickwork shall be protected from rain or sun while it is green, the brickwork shall be kept wet on
all the faces for at least 10 days during construction.

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First Class Brick work

Scaffolding -
• Scaffolding shall be strong to withstand all dead, live and impact loads which are likely to come on them.
Scaffolding shall be provided to allow easy approach to every part of the work.
• For plastering, pointing or finishing brick work, single scaffolding can be used.
• For exposed brick work or tile work where finishing & plastering is not required double scaffolding used.
• Scaffolding shall be sufficiently strong to withstand all the loads that likely to come upon it.

Measurements –
• Brick work shall be measured separately for
1. From foundation to Plinth level
2. Plinth (floor one) level to floor two level
3. Between two specified floor levels above floor two level
4. For String courses, projecting pilasters - running metres
5. Square or rectangular pillars - cubic metres
6. Circular pillars - cubic metres

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Brick masonry for cavity wall –

• Whole bricks without headers shall be used.
• Care is to be taken to prevent mortar droppings from falling down.
• While using weep holes extreme care is to be taken to avoid any damage to the d.p.c.
• The ties shall not be placed at more than 450mm vertically or more than 900mm
horizontally, staggered.
• Four courses equal a vertical dimension of 300mm and the bond is to be carried up
regularly

Brick work in arches–

• Arch work shall include masonry for both gauged as well as plain arches. In
gauged arches, cut or moulded bricks shall be used. In plain arches, uncut bricks
shall be used.
• Brick forming skew-backs shall be dressed or cut so as to give proper radial
bearing to the end voussiors.
• Defects in dressing of bricks shall not be covered by extravagant use of mortar,
nor shall the use of chips or bats etc. be permitted

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STONE -Random Rubble 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.

Laying Technique
• 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 be carried up regularly and true to plumb. The thickness of joints shall not exceed 12mm.

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STONE -Random Rubble Masonry

Scaffolding
The supports shall be sound and strong, tied together by horizontal pieces over which the scaffolding planks shall be fixed.
Single scaffolding having one set of vertical support shall be allowed.
The holes left in masonry work for supporting scaffolding shall be filled with cement concrete.

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.

Protection
Green work shall be protected from rain by suitable covering. The work shall also be suitably protected from damage,
mortar dropping and rain during construction.

Measurements
The length, height and thickness shall be measured correct to a cm.
The quantity shall be calculated in cubic metre

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REINFORCED CEMENT CONCRETE (R.C.C.)

Shuttering and Staging –
• Shuttering shall be of approved dressed timber preferably of Plywood or steel approved by Engineer in charge.
• Faces in contact with concrete shall be free from adhering grout, projecting nails, spilts or such other defects.
• As an alternative, sufficiently rigid steel shuttering may be used.
• All joints of the shuttering shall be either tonged and grooved or the joints be perfectly closed and lined with craft
paper or other type of approved materials so as to prevent the loss of liquid from the concrete.
• In case of steel shuttering the joints shall be similarly lined. Any timber that shows any tendency to wrap, shrink or
twist shall be readjusted.
• All shuttering and framing shall be rigid, well braced and sufficiently strong to stand the pressure of wet concrete
and stresses of ramming etc. upto the satisfaction of the Engineer-in-charge.
• All frame work shall be removed without shock or vibration after a period of 21 days for bottom shuttering of
horizontal members and 3 days for side shuttering.

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REINFORCED CEMENT CONCRETE (R.C.C.)

Shuttering and Staging –
• Faces of shuttering in contact with concrete and interior of all moulds and boxes must be thoroughly washed and an
approved mould oil or other material insoluble in water shall be applied to prevent adherence of the
concrete.

(b) Reinforcement –
• Mild steel bars shall conform to the I. S. specification, free from rust, paint and grease or oil etc. All
reinforcement bars shall be accurately placed with necessary hooks and bends etc. as described on the drawing or
elsewhere.
• Bars at their points of intersection shall be securely wired together with 18 S.W. G. annealed black iron wire.
• The cover of concrete to the reinforcement shall be as described on the drawings and shall be provided by means of
distance pieces of concrete block or other approved material.
• Bars under 25mm in size shall be bent cold by approved means producing a gradual and even motion. Bars of
25mm in size or more shall be bent hot, but shall not be heated beyond cherry-red colour and after bending it shall
be allowed to cool slowly without quenching. Bends shall comply with the dimensions shown in the bending
schedule.

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REINFORCED CEMENT CONCRETE (R.C.C.)

(c) Materials for concrete. - Same as cement concrete in foundation except that the size of coarse aggregate shall be
20mm unless specially mentioned in the type of work.

(d) Proportioning of concrete - Same as cement concrete in foundation item.

(e) Mixing, workability, placing and curing- Same as cement concrete in foundation item.

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LEARNING OUTCOMES

1. To know How to write specification for different materials in details.

2. To understand various properties about material while writing the specification

in detail

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THANK YOU

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