In the name of Allah, most compassionate and merciful

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Ministry of Public Works and Housing
Deputy Ministry of Public Works
GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS
FOR
BUILDING CONSTRUCTION
DIVISI! "# $ %!%&'('
%opyright )"")
Minisr! of Pub"i# $or%s and &ousing
D'(u! Minisr! of Pub"i# $or%s
C'nra" Offi#' for Bui"ding and Consru#ion ) *
P+O+Bo, *-./*
Ri!ad0 11**2
333+m(30+go4+sa
(hese specifications ha*e been prepared by the Special %ommittee for +pdating the ,eneral
Specifications for -uilding %onstruction, affiliated to the %entral ffice for -uilding and %onstruction.
/ st 'dition 0 "/. Moharram /1"#H
/2. ctober /32),
) nd 'dition 0 )1. Sha4ban /1)#H
#". ctober )""),
All rights, including translation into foreign languages, reser*ed.
!o part of these specifications may be reproduced, stored in a retrie*al system, or transmitted in any form
or by any means electronically or other5ise 5ithout the prior 5ritten permission of the Deputy Ministry of
Public Works, Ministry of Public Works and Housing, 6ingdom of Saudi Arabia
II
R's(onsib"' M'mb'rs of 0' S('#ia" Commi''
for
0' R'4ision of 0' G'n'ra" S('#ifi#aions for Bui"ding Consru#ion
G'n'ra" Su('r4ision
Dr.7Ing. Habib Mustafa 8ein Al7Abidin
Assisan G'n'ra" Su('r4isor
'ng. 'brahim Suleyman Al !a9ashi
Pro5'# Manag'r
Arch. 'ng. Abdulrahman M. Al Mufarre9
Pro5'# Organi6'r
'ng. Mohammed Ali Al He9airy
G'n'ra" R'7uir'm'ns
Dr.7Ing. Habib Mustafa 8ein Al7Abididin Dr.7Ing. Helmut Isendahl
Dipl.7Ing. Hubert ,ockel Dipl.Ing. Arch. Helmut Wolf
'ng. %hristopher Willmot Arch. 'ng. Abdulrahman M. Al Mufarre9
T0' Ar#0i'#ura" Di4isions
Arch. 'ng. Abdulrahman M. Al Mufarre9 Dipl.7Ing. Arch. Helmut Wolf
Dipl.7Ing. Hubert ,ockel Dr.7 Ing. Magdy 6amel Moustafa 6amel
'ng. Mohammed Ali Al He9airy Dipl.7Ing. Arch. -ernhard Multhaup
T0' Sru#ura" Di4isions
Dr.7Ing. Habib Mustafa 8ein Al7Abididin Dr. 7Ing. Magdy 6amel Moustafa 6amel
Dipl.7Ing. Hubert ,ockel Dr.7Ing. Helmut Isendahl
III
T0' M'#0ani#a" Di4isions
'ng. -ahgat 6amal Abul Saad 'ng. Mohamad Adel 'l7Massarani
Dipl.7Ing. Hubert ,ockel 'ng. Ismail 6amil
T0' E"'#ri#a" Di4isions
'ng. %hristopher Willmott 'ng. Ahmed Hussein ,hanem
C0'#%ing of T'#0ni#a" T'rms and E,(r'ssions
Dr. 7Ing. Magdy 6amel Moustafa 6amel Dr.7Ing. Hafe: Mahmud 6ayali
'ng. Mohamad Adel 'l7Massarani Dr. 'ng. 6haled Al7Sayed Hasan
'ng. -ahgat 6amal Abul Saad 'ng. Ma:en Diarbakerli
Daa Bas' D'sign and Programming
Dipl.76fm. Horst &eimann Dipl.7Ing. Hubert ,ockel
Dipl.7Ing. Michael Meyer Dipl.7Ing. !orbert Schlipkoether
Programmer 'brahim Mohammad Sangary Programmer Mubarak Said Al ;ahtani
Programmer 'mad Saleh Al Ati<i
'ng. Mohammed A. Al =unidel
'ng. Adel A. Al7=u5ayed
IV
For'3ord
(he role of the Public Works Ministry in designing go*ernment pro9ects and super*ising their construction,
and the technical challenges 5hich ha*e accompanied the construction renaissance in the 6ingdom of
Saudi Arabia enabled the Ministry to gain much e>pertise and practical e>perience. (he Ministry,
moti*ated by instructions of H&H (he Minister of Public Works and Housing, and directed by H' Dr.
Habib bin Mustafa 8ain Al Abideen, released its first edition of the *olume ?,eneral Specifications for
-uilding %onstruction@ in the year /1"#H A/32), (hose specifications 5ere recei*ed 5ith tremendous
5elcome and acceptance. Barge numbers of engineers and engineering departments and offices, as 5ell
as contracting companies, in the local, regional and Arab %ountries, started to apply them. Curthermore,
due to the absence of similar specifications that match these specifications in terms of thoroughness and
details in the field of building industry 5ithin the Arab World, the %ouncil of the Housing and De*elopment
Ministers adopted these specifications in the year /33) as the first step to produce uniform Arabian
Specifications.
(he 5idespread application and utili:ation of these specifications has re<uired the Public Works Ministry
to be responsible for their updating and de*elopment. %onse<uently, the ministry has recruited a large
number of e>perts and engineers to perform this 5ork. More than D" indi*iduals speciali:ing in the
*arious fields of engineering, programming, technical e>pressions and terminology, and translation ha*e
been employed.
+pdating and de*elopment ha*e focused on the follo5ing points$
/. 6eeping in step 5ith modern inno*ations and technologies, 5hich ha*e marked the material
e<uipment, machinery and building techni<ues locally and internationally.
). +pdating the &eference Standards 5ith priority gi*en to Saudi, ,ulf, and International standards.
#. +tili:ation of the sorting and classification system most commonly used in the field of construction
5orld5ide.
1. 'mployment of a standard numbering, coding, and filing system 5hich allo5s for easy recall and
e>change of information.
D. &egulations and byla5s released by fficial Agencies.
E. Preser*ation of the en*ironment and public health.
F. 'ncouragement of !ational industry.
2. De*elopment of a bilingual database GArabicA'nglishH for use 5ith Personal %omputers.
(he internationally recogni:ed frame5ork kno5n as ?Masterformat@ released by the %onstruction
Specifications Institute G%SIH has been adopted in order to organi:e the sorting and numbering in the ne5
edition of the specifications in a manner that insures the easy flo5 and e>change of information among
specialists and the community of the building industry at large. (he ne5 edition in*ol*es /) main
di*isions, 5hich ha*e been selected from the /E di*isions appro*ed by the %SI. It is 5orth noting that our
selected di*isions ha*e not o*erlooked any of the recogni:ed basic 5orks in building construction. (hese
di*isions are$
Di*ision "/$ ,eneral &e<uirements
Di*ision ")$ Site5ork
Di*ision "#$ %oncrete
Di*ision "1$ Masonry
Di*ision "D$ Metals
Di*ision "E$ Wood and Plastics
Di*ision "F$ (hermal and Moisture Protection
Di*ision "2$ Doors and Windo5s
Di*ision "3$ Cinishes
Di*ision /1$ %on*eying Systems
Di*ision /D$ Mechanical
Di*ision /E$ 'lectrical
V
'ach Di*ision comprises a number of related Sections.
Cor e>ample$ Di*ision "2 includes eight Sections. (hey are$
"2/"" Doors and Crames
"2)"" Wooden and Plastic Doors
"2#"" Special Doors
"21"" 'ntrances and Storefronts
"2D"" Metal Windo5s
"2E"" Wooden and Plastic Windo5s
"2F"" Hard5are
"22"" ,la:ing
Curther, each Section incorporates se*en Parts as follo5s$
Part /$ ,eneral$ (his is mainly concerned 5ith the references, <uality control, submittals, programs,
and maintenance.
Part )$ Products$ (his gi*es a breakdo5n of material used in addition to their properties and place of
installation.
Part #$ '>ecution$ (he most significant items in this Part are the e>ecution and installation of the
5orks, field <uality control, as 5ell as cleaning and protection methods.
Part 1$ Methods of Measurement$ (his indicates the measurement units and the measuring methods
that shall be used for the -ill of ;uantity.
Part D$ -asis of Payment$ (his indicates the 5ork that shall be completed for each item of the -ill of
;uantity. It also indicates the ancillary 5orks to be included in the unit price rate.
Part E$ Anne>$ (ables and Cigures$ (hose rele*ant to the indi*idual Section.
Part F$ Anne>$ Specifier Information$ Additional information for the person 5ho prepares pro9ect
specifications particularly 5ith regard to selection of items and additions 5hich may be
necessary.
(he ne5 edition of the ,eneral Specifications for -uilding %onstruction, 5hich comprises /) Di*isions, is
pro*ided as follo5s$
7 Published in book form in both Arabic and 'nglish languages, as indi*idual di*isions
7 Published as %D &M in both Arabic and 'nglish languages in MSWord format.
Bater on it 5ill be published as a bilingual GArabicA'nglishH MSAccess Database
for Personal %omputers GP%H.
It is 5orth mentioning that the effort of updating and de*eloping these specifications encountered many
difficulties and challenges during the preparation, *erification, re*ie5ing of technical terminology and
e>pressions, and control of the translation. Ho5e*er, 5ith the help of Allah, then the instructions of H&H
(he Minister of Public Works and Housing, and the persistent efforts of the %entral ffice and members
of the %ommittee that super*ised the updating and de*elopment processes, presided o*er by H' Dr.
Habib bin Mustafa 8ain Al Abideen, Deputy Minister of Public Works, this 5ork is no5 complete as a first
draft.
(he Ministry of Public Works, headed by H&H Prince Miteb bin Abdul A:i: Al Saud, Minister of Public
Works and Housing, places this ne5 edition Gfirst draftH of the ,eneral Specifications for -uilding
%onstruction in the hands of those in*ol*ed in and concerned 5ith the construction industry, be it
commissions, go*ernment organi:ations, uni*ersities and educational institutes or engineering offices,
contractors, architects, and engineers 5ithin the 6ingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Arab ,ulf States, and all
member %ountries of the Arab Beague.
We hope that 5e 5ill be pro*ided 5ith their comments and recommendations 5hich shall be met 5ith our
full attention and care. (hose comments and recommendations that are deemed appropriate shall be
incorporated in the final edition, 5hich shall be issued during the coming t5o years.
VI
%omments and &ecommendations may be for5arded to the follo5ing address$
Minisr! of Pub"i# $or%s and &ousing
D'(u! Minisr! for Pub"i# $or%s
C'nra" Offi#' for Consru#ion and Bui"ding 8 *
P+O+Bo, *-./*
Ri!ad0 111*2
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
r, through our e7mail as follo5s$
gsbc@mpwh.gov.sa
We 5ould like to take this opportunity to e>press our deep appreciation and gratitude to H' 'ng.
Muhammad bin Hamid Al !agadi, Assistant Deputy Minister for Public Works, the ,eneral Directorate for
(echnical Affairs, %omputer Department, and the Saudi Arabia Standards rgani:ation for their
commendable close cooperation 5ith us during the updating and de*elopment process.
!ot5ithstanding the amplitude of this Work and the tremendous efforts that ha*e been e>erted therein,
ne*ertheless, it may only be measured as a humble accomplishment as compared to the responsibility of
de*eloping the construction industry in the 6ingdom and in the 5hole Arab World to keep in step 5ith ne5
international trends.
%entral ffice for %onstruction and -uilding
Deputy Ministry of Public Works
VII
DI9ISION .:
CONCRETE
R'4ision
Dr.7Ing. Habib Mustafa 8ein Al7Abidin
Dr.7Ing. Helmut Isendahl
C0'#% of T'rms
Dr.7Ing. Hafe: Mahmud 6ayali
Fina" C0'#%
Dipl.7Ing. !orbert Schlipkoether
VIII
INDE;
Di4ision .1< G'n'ra" R'7uir'm'ns
Summary of Work
Allo5ances
Measurement and Payment
Modification &e<uirements
Alternati*es
%o7ordination and Meetings
Pro9ect %o7ordination
Cield 'ngineering
Architectural and 'ngineering Design
&egulatory &e<uirements
Identification Systems
&eference Standards and Definitions
Alteration Pro9ect Procedures
Submittals
;uality Assurances
%onstruction Cacilities and (emporary %ontrols
Material and '<uipment
Starting of Systems
%ontract %loseout
peration I Maintenance Data
Di4ision .=< Si'3or%
'arth5ork
Pa*ing and Surfacing
Water Distribution
Se5erage and Drainage
Irrigation Systems
Bandscaping
Di4ision .:< Con#r''
Con#r'' Form3or% .1
Con#r'' R'infor#'m'n =:
Cas)in)P"a#' Con#r'' -2
Pr'#as Con#r'' 1**
IJ
Di4ision .2< Masonr!
+nit Masonry
Di4ision .*< M'a"s
Structural Steel
Metal Cabrication
'>pansion 9oint co*er assembly
Di4ision .-< $ood > P"asi#s
Hea*y (imber %onstruction
Architectural Wood5ork
Di4ision .?< T0'rma" > Moisur' Pro'#ion
Waterproofing
Dampproofing
Water &epellents
Insulation
Cireproofing
Manufactured &oofing I Siding
Membrane &oofing
Clashing and Sheet Metal
&oof Specialities I Accessories
=oint Sealers
Di4ision .@< Doors > $indo3s
Metal Doors and Crames
Wood and Plastic Doors
Special Doors
'ntrances and Storefront
Metal Windo5s
Wood and Plastic Windo5s
Hard5are
,la:ing
J
Di4ision ./< Finis0's
Bath and Plaster
,ypsum -oard
(ile
(erra::o
Stone Cacing
Acoustical (reatments
Special %eiling Surfaces
Wood Clooring
&esilient Clooring
%arpet
Painting
Wall %o*erings
Di4ision 12< Con4'!ing S!s'ms
Dumb5aiters
'le*ators
'scalators
Hoists and %ranes
Di4ision 1*< M'#0ani#a"
-asic Mechanical Materials I Methods
Mechanical Insulation
Cire Protecting Piping
Cire Pumps
Wet Pipe Sprinkler System
Dry Pipe Sprinkler System
Pre7action Sprinkler System
%ombination Dry Pipe I Pre7Action Sprinkler Systems
Deluge Sprinkler System
%arbon Dio>ide '>tinguishing Systems
Stand Pipe I Hose Systems
Plumbing Piping
Plumbing Specialities
Plumbing Ci>tures
JI
Plumbing '<uipment
Pool I Countain '<uipment
Special Systems
Heating, Ventilating, and Air %onditioning
Heat ,eneration
&efrigeration
Heat (ransfer
Air Handling
Air Distribution
%ontrols
(esting, Ad9usting, and -alancing
Di4ision 1-< E"'#ri#a"
-asic 'lectrical Materials I Methods
Medium Voltage Distribution
Ser*ice and Distribution
Bighting
Special Systems
Alarm I Detection Systems
%lock I Program Systems
Voice I Data Systems
Public Address I Music Systems
(ele*ision Systems
%ontrols
(esting
JII