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Rules of Thumb
List Question

What are some of the rules of thumb of

construction field?
3 Answers

Vivek Singh, Founder - Director at BRICKS TO WOOD

Answered Jan 7 2018 · Author has 83 answers and 614k answer views
There are endless thumb rule used in Construction Industry , I am stating few of
them listed below : -

Concrete : 0.038 cum per sq. ft. of plan area. (+/- 5%)

Steel : 4.50 to 5.00 Kg per sq. ft.

Shuttering : 2.40 to 2.50 times the plan area of slab (this includes
col./beams/sides etc)

Brick Work : 0.015 cum per sq. ft. of plan area.

Approximately 0.25 cubic metres of mortar and 500 bricks are

required for 1 cubic metre of brickwork

Concrete: 0.5A Cum for Commercial Bldg.

0.2A Cum for Residential Bldg.

Where, A= Total Built Up Area.(i.e. Plinth Area xNo. of Floor)

Steel: 4.5-4.75 kg per Sqft of Built up Area for Residential Building

5.0-5.5 kg per Sqft of Built up area for Commercial Building.

Formwork: (1). Shuttering = 6 times the quantity of concreting.(or2.4 times the

plinth area)
(a) No of12 mm Ply (2.44mx1.22m)=0.22 times of shuttering ( or, 0.4A)

(b)Batten(75mmx40mm)=19.82X No. of Ply Sheets(it gives batten in RM)

(c)Nails=0.22x total area of shuttering.(unit-kg) Practically, 75 gm nails and 75

gm binding wire + nut-bolts are consumed per sqm of shuttering

(d)Shuttering Oil=0.065x total area of shuttering(unit-Lt)

Electrical cost = Rs 133/sft

Plumbing cost = Rs 126/sft

Fire fighting cost = Rs 40/sft

External development = Rs 94.5/sft

Labour Productivity:

Brick Work - 1 mason + 1Labour = 1.25 cm

Wall Plastering - 1 mason +1 Labour = 10 Sqm

Ceiling Plastering - 1 mason + 1Labour = 8 Sqm

External Plastering - 1 mason + 1 Labour = 8 Sqm

Carpenter - 1 Skilled + 1 Un skilled = 4 Sqm

Bar bender - 1 Skilled + 1 Un skilled = 200 Kg

Tile work - 1 Mason + 1Labour = 10 Sqm

Painter - Skilled -OBD 600 Sft

- Emulsion 800 Sft

CO-EFFICIENT FOR PAINTING:

Partly paneled and glazed doors = 0.80 times the door or window area.

Collapsible gates = 1.50

Corrugated sheeted steel doors = 1.25

Rolling shutters = 1.10

Expanded metal hard drawn steel = 1.00

Fencing and gates, brace, rails = 1.00

Flush doors = 1.20

Partly paneled doors = 1.00

Fully glazed doors = 0.80

Fully louvered = 1.80

I f its only for slab ….then a 5″ slab almost costs roughly Rs.220/- per sq. Feet all
inclusive of Steel, Rcc, Shuttering etc.

If u are asking for residential building complete in all respects…than it costs u

around Rs. 1200/- per sq. Feet. Civil Structure Work – Rs. 750 per sqft
and for Finishing Work – Rs. 450 per sqft.

(a) Painting - Rs 12 - 17 per sqft (two layers of putty + two layers of coat)
including taxes

(b) Flooring - Marble is Rs 80 per sqft (depends on the type of marble may be -
but this is what it is costing us). Granite and bathroom tiles 15 - 20 Rs per sqft
(we provide all material such as cement, sand etc).

(c) Electrical - You are better off buying the materials for them. A rough guide is
Rs 50 - 100 per sqft for materials and Rs 12 - 20 per sqft for labor.

CEMENT REQUIREMENTS:

M10 : 210 Kg

M20 : 320 Kg

M25 : 340 Kg

M30 : 380 Kg

M35 : 410 Kg

M40 : 430 Kg

M45 : 450 Kg

I hope these thumb rule will help you in your career.

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Nil, Sr. Engg at Infratech Mumbai (2015-present)

Updated Jun 6, 2018 · Author has 66 answers and 298.3k answer views
Thumb rule for steel..Based on concrete volume

1. For beam = 2% of concrete volume

2. For slab = 1% of concrete volume
3. For column= 2.5 % of concrete volume..
How to use

Example..

For 1 cubic meter volume of column required steel…

Column steel= (% steel thumb rule)*(steel density)*(volume of concrete)

= 0.025 * 7850*1

= 196.25. Kg
Approx..200kg for 1 m3 volume of column..

Thumb rules based on day by day practice & experience in construction field…

my senior engineer tell me in case of immediate/ urgency we use this rule..many

times it helpful…

General thumb rules…. for ‘1m3’ concrete volume

1. For M20(1:1.5:3)
8.4 bag cement, 0.84 m3 CA, 0.42m3 sand.

2. For M15 (1:2:4)

6.6bag cement, 0.88 m3 CA, 0.44m3 sand.

3. For M10 (1:3:6)

4.5 bag cement, 0.90m3 CA, 0.45m3 sand.

FOR HIGH RAISE BUILDING :-

Thumb rule requirement of standard materials and standard

calculation in high raised building

 Steel =3 to 5 kg / sft
 Cement =.5bags/ sft
 RMC =.05 m3/sft
 Block =12.5 nos /sqm
 Electrical cast = Rs 133/sft
 Plumbing cost = Rs 126/sft
 Fire fighting cost = Rs 40/sft
 External development = Rs 94.5/sft
 Civil works-Structure = RS 751.25/sft
 Finishing works = RS 467.50/sft
 200 mm in cm 1:6 =0.124Bags /sqm
 200 mm in cm 1:4 =0.206 bags/sqm
 150 mm in cm 1:6 =0.093 bags/sqm
 150mm in cm 1:4 =0.144 bags/sqm
 100 mm in cm 1:4 =0.103 bags/sqm
 Ceiling plastering =0.11 bags/sqm
 Wall plastering =0.09 bags/sqm
 Rough plastering =0.09 bags/sqm
 Duct plastering =0.09 bags/sqm
 External plastering =0.175 bags/sqm
  lathen plastering =0.55 bags/sqm
 stucco plaster =0.175 bags/sqm
 100 mm plaster band =0.012 bags/rmt
 pcc 1: 4: 8 =3.4 bags/cum
 pcc 1:5:10 =2.52 bags/cum
 pcc 1:3:6 =4.2 bags/cum
 pcc 1:2:4 =6.02 bags/cum
 230 mm brick =0.876 bags/cum
 115 mm brick work =0.218 bags/cum
 vdf 100 mm thick =0.82 bags/sqm
 granolithic flooring =40 mm 0.35 bags/sqm
 granolithic flooring =20 mm 0.28 bags/sqm
 anti-skid =0.28 bags/sqm
 ceramic =0.28 bags/sqm
 vertified tile flooring =0.28 bags/sqm
 vertified tile dado =0.27 bags/sqm
 cerami dado =0.27 bags/sqm
 marble flooring =0.3 bags/sqm
 100 mm ht marble skerting =0.027 bags/rmt
 marble glading =0.27 bags/sqm
 terracota tle flooring =0.3 bags/sqm
 mangalore tile =0.3 bags/sqm
 Door frame fixing =0.17 bags/sqm
 water proofing for sunken slab =0.23 bags/sqm
 water proofing for walls =0.23 bags/sqm
 water proofing for balcony/toilets =0.65 bags/sqm
 Anti terminate treatment chemical Name is chloropyrifoc 20% .
Diluting5 Lit of Chemical with 95 Lit of water and usage is 7.5 Sqm Per
liter {Diluted} .To Provide 1” Dia hole And Deep1Foot
Labour Productivity thump rule :-

Brick work

1 mason 1 Men mazdoor 1.25 sqm

1 Women Mazdoor

Wall Plastering 1 mason

1 Men mazdoor 10 sqm

1 Women Mazdoor

Ceiling Plastering 1 mason

1 Men mazdoor 8 sqm

1 Women Mazdoor

External Plastering 1 mason

1 Men mazdoor 8 sqm

1 Women Mazdoor

Block work 8” 1 mason

1 Men mazdoor 10 sqm

1 Women Mazdoor

Block work 6” 1 mason

1 Men mazdoor 8 sqm

1 Women Mazdoor

Block work 4” 1 mason

1 Men mazdoor 8 sqm

1 Women Mazdoor

Carpenter 1 Skilled

1 Un skilled 4 Sqm

Bar bender 1 Skilled

1 UN skilled 200Kg

Tile work 1 Mason

1M Mazdoor 10 Sqm

Paint

Painter skilled OBD 600 Sft

Emulsion 800 Sft

Putty 600 Sft

Primer 800 Sft

Miscellineous thumb rule in construction :-

 External Painting
Ace-Low quality

Apex-Medium Quality

Apex ultima –High Quality

One Sqm =10.763Sft

One Cum =35.314 Cft
One Acres=4046.873 Sqm=43560.17 Sft=4840.019Yards
One Cubic meter = 1000 litere
One Meter =3.280Feet
One Mile =1609.344 meter
One Acre = 100 cent
One ground =2400 Sft=5.51 cent
½ ground =2.75 cent
One Mile =8 Furlong
One cement bag =1.25 Cft
One Forma box =1*1*1.25 feet
THUMB RULES FOR CONCRETE MIX DESIGN

FOR ADDING 4 LITERS OF WATER IN 1 CU.M FRESHLY MIXED CONCRETE

1. The slump value will be increased by 25 mm.

2. The compressive strength of concrete will be decreased by 1.5 to 2.0 N/mm2

3. The shrinkage potential will be increased by 10%.

4. 1/4 bag of cement will be wasted.

IF THE TEMPERATURE OF FRESHLY MIXED CONCRETE IS INCREASED BY

1%, THEN

1. 4 liters of water per cu.m will give equal slump.

2. The air content will be decreased by 1%.

3. The compressive strength of concrete will be decreased by 1.0 to 1.5 N/mm2.

IF THE AIR CONTENT OF FRESHLY MIXED CONCRETE IS

1. Increased by 1% then the compressive strength will be decreased by 5 %.

2. Decreased by 1%, yield will be decreased by 0.03 cu.m per 1 cu.m.

3. Decreased by 1%, then the slump value will be decreased about 12.5 mm.

4. Decreased by 1%, then the durability of the concrete will be reduced by 10%.

The following are some of the rules of thumb which will be useful to
achieve economy:

Minimize floor-to-floor height:

By minimizing the floor-to-floor height, the cost associated with mechanical

services, stairs, exterior building cladding can be significantly reduced.

Use repetitive formwork

The cost of formwork may be very high and is not given due consideration by the
designers. The cost can be reduced when the framing system is used repetitively
(10 or more times) on a structure.

Use standard column size

This can be achieved by varying the amount of reinforcing steel and the concrete
strength within the column. This will allow for a single column form and will
minimize the number of variations to meet beam or slab forms.

Adopt uniform column layout

Uniform column layout results in simple formwork, which can be used

repetitively from floor-to-floor. Similarly, regular shaped buildings will be more
economical than irregularly shaped buildings with L- or T-shaped columns.

As far as possible, use the same depth for beams

The saving in formwork and shoring costs will exceed any additional costs for
concrete and reinforcing steel. This will also provide a uniform ceiling elevation
and minimize mechanical service installation difficulties.

Use high strength concrete in columns

The high strength may reduce the column size or the amount of reinforcing steel
required for the column.

Use high early strength concrete

This will allow for earlier form stripping and will reduce total construction time.

Specify self-consolidating concrete

Heavily reinforced columns and beams can be very congested with rebar, which
prevents the proper placement of the concrete. SSC maximizes concrete
flowability without harmful segregation and dramatically minimize
honeycombing and air pockets.

Specify locally available materials

The use of local aggregates and recycled materials in concrete makes it a 'green'
product, which is requested by environmentally responsible owners.

Use commonly available size of bars and spirals

For a single structural member, the number of different sizes of bars should be
kept to a minimum.

Use the largest bar size that satisfies the design considerations

Use larger size bars in columns and smaller size bars in slabs. Larger diameter
bars reduce the number of bars that must be placed and minimize installation
costs.

Eliminate bent bars where possible

Bent bars increase fabrication costs and require greater storage area and sorting
time on the job site.

Avoid congestion of steel

Congestion of bars should be avoided, especially at beam-colu

Guidelines to be followed for making a column layout

In this article, we will go through the essential thumb rules to be

followed for giving a column layout. Of-course columns have to be
designed in accordance to the total forces acting on the structure, but
apart from that, it is essential for every Civil engineer and Architect to
remember a few thumb rules so that they are prevented from making
mistakes.
You can hire me for your structural design need. Contact me.
Three thumb rules to be followed are as follows:

1. Size of the Columns

2. Distance between Columns
3. Alignment of columns
Minimum Size of RCC columns

The size of the columns depends on the total load on the columns.
There are axial loads and lateral loads. Large beam spans induce
bending moment not only in the beams, but also in columns which are
pulled by the stresses in the beams. It is important to use advanced
structural design software like ETabs or Staad pro. I highly recommend
every structural designer learn these software. The thumb rules are for
general designing in very small projects.

For this general thumb rule, we will assume a structure of G+1

floors high, using standard 6″ walls.
Minimum size of an RCC column should not be less than 9” x 12”
(225mm x 300mm) with 4 bars of 12 MM Fe415 Steel.
These days the minimum I use in my projects is 9″ x 12″ (225 mm x
300mm) with 6 bars of 12 MM Fe500 steel. You can never go wrong
with strong columns. I also recommend use of M20 grade concrete for
the structure (ratio 1 part Cement : 1.5 parts Sand : 3 parts Aggregate
with 0.5 parts water by volume). I recommend use of 8 MM stirrups at
a distance of 150 MM center to center throughout the length of
column.

This setup of 9″ x 12″ RCC columns is safe for G+1 Floors. There are a
lot of other considerations, but this is just a thumb rule.

Span (distance) between two columns

For the above column setup, a span of up to 5 meters is quite safe.

One can use beams of size 9″ X 12″ (225 MM x 300MM) with a slab
thickness of 5″ (125 MM) cast in M20 concrete for spans up to 5m.
There are other considerations like secondary and tertiary spans, point
loads and wall loads which have to be considered. It is complicated,
but thumb rules can work if the structure is simple. It is always
recommended to use structural design software like ETabs or Staad
pro for design.

In a beam of up to 5 meters length, secondary spans of up to 4

meters, wall loads of up to 8 kN per running meter, I can use steel as
below.

 Top Steel – 2 bars of 12 MM

 Crank bars – 2 bars of 12 MM, cranked at an angle of 45° at a
distance of L/4 at both ends of a simply supported beam
 Bottom Steel – 3 bars of 12 MM.
This configuration can change depending on a lot of factors.

Alignment of Columns

Placing of columns depend completely on the plan. A planner has a

very important job. A grid column placement is always preferred in
order to reduce point loads and unnecessary complications while
construction. This reduces the cost of construction as well as time
required for construction. Beams which have continuity with other
simply supported beams have reduced bending moments, and thus
require less steel and concrete depth to be safe.

Columns have to be connected with each other for smooth transfer of

loads. An experienced planner will keep such things in mind when
planning the structure.

In the next article, I will explain these three thumb rules with the
help of an example “Column Layout for a Residence“.
Recommended Reading:

Introduction to design of RCC Structures