SPECIFICATIONS Architecture

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Chapter 1.0 Specification

 The specification is the document where the level of intended quality is specified.
 Specifications are clear concise descriptions of materials and workmanship including the methods
of construction and precautions to be taken

Purpose of Specification

 It helps to avoid the lengthy descriptions in bills of quantities and big captions on the drawings. It
supplements the information given in the drawings
 It serves the bidders to guide about the client’s intended quality requirements and to arrive them at
a fair price for the work involved.
 Specification is the part of contract documents between owner and the contractor limiting and
describing their risks and responsibilities.
 Specifications serve as a guide for supervisors, engineers and fabricators regarding the methods
of construction, fabrication, installation of equipment and materials.

Types of Specification

 Depending upon the purpose served, the specifications can be grouped as follows:
 Contract Specification
o Contract specification is developed for a particular construction or project to accompany
the working drawings. It is divided into two types
 General specification
 This describes the nature of the purposed work, qualities of the materials
and workmanship in general for the work as a whole
 Particular Specification
 This is detailed written descriptions of every item in the schedule of
quantities, which specifies the materials to be used, its quality,
workmanship and the results to be achieved. Usually specification of the
items is written in the same sequence as they are mentioned in the BOQ
 Standard Specification:
o This is generally prepared and published by national standard
organizations which cover specific materials or group of materials used by
a specific trade or a segment of construction industry. E.g. Indian
standard, NS etc..
o Overall Performance Specification:
o This details in comprehensive but general terms, what the client is looking
for
o Manufacturer's Specification:
o Specification prepared by manufacturer’s showing their quality of their
products

Alternatively:

 General Specifications

 It gives the name and nature or class of items of works and materials in general,
 At the stage of designing and planning, the designer / planner use different items of works
in short to distinguish one from other,
 It helps to obtain general ideas of the item of works,
 It is not used in conflict resolution. It does not make a basis for litigation

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 Detailed Specifications

 gives details of materials, methodology and maintenance regarding the quality level of a
particular work,
 speaks out the quality of the input, process and outputs including maintenance required
throughout its active life

It has the following three provisions in general-

 General provision,
 Technical provision, and
 Standard specification provision

 General provision

 General limitations are described to eliminate dilemmas or to ensure ways of

resolving the dilemmas.
 department prepares it for general purposes
 Describes the roles of contractors, owner and engineers in the construction.
 Defines the time, dates, way out for defects and design and plans etc.
 Describes the validity of roles of stakeholders, communication process,
personnel requirements, governing law, decision-making process and other
binding terms and conditions.
 Include the conditions of contracts

 Technical provision

 Materials-

 Chemical composition,
 Physical properties,
 Transportation and storage of materials,
 Nos. of tests and certifications

 Workmanship-

 Construction methods,
 Protection of the finished products,
 Use of manpower or machines or both,
 Maintenance of the completed products

 Standards specifications provisions

 Specifications are standardized for the most items of works occurring in

the similar situation / works by the departments or any other authentic
authority,
 Standards are provided with code of practice numbers, where and when
the code is quoted, the details of it gives its details specifications, which
have already, been described by the authority,

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 By quoting the standard specification numbers, the writing up of the

specification can be minimized without creating confusion, ISI, NSI, BSI
are some of the standards specifications that can be quoted

Following points are recommended for writing specifications-

 use concise, clearly worded and unambiguous word , sentence,

 syllabi and sentences should be grammatically correct,
 accurate and complete information should be given in all respects,
 use any suitable and desired words for exact meaning
 practical limitations should be kept in mind
 specifications should be fair to all stakeholders
 it is a legal document, so, use only concise words to avoid confusion and
ambiguity,
 established and recognized parameters are described through its code numbers
in the relevant context wholly of partly,

Specification Writing

The general principles of specification writing are substantially the same regardless of the subject matter,
which are as follows:

1. Specification language: Simple and clear. Same tense and repetition of noun is preferable
2. Brief: as brief as possible. Standard article be specified by references and code numbers.
3. Fairness: fair to all parties. Proper sharing of risks
4. Express: requirement of each and every item
5. Repetition of information is avoided to avoid possibility of contradiction
6. Inclusion of proper paragraph
– specification of materials
– combinations of materials
– preliminary works prior to construction
– installation of materials
– test, if any
– clearing on completion
– mode of measurements
7. Standard size and patterns: commercial size should be specified as far as possible, unusual;
dimensions should be avoidable
8. Cross references should be minimum as possible
9. Quality of materials and workmanship should be specified
10. Nothing impossible to achieve and not intended to be enforced should be specified
11. While specifying the brand of materials options and choices should be given

Importance of Specification

1. Tender / contract document and agreement without specification is incomplete, baseless and
invalid.
2. The cost of an unit quality of work is governed by its specification
3. To verify and check the strength of material for a work involved in a project
4. To specify the equipment, tools and plants to be employed for a works and thus enables to procure
or hire
5. To procure the materials required for a project and to check the quality of materials
6. It serves a guide for the site Engineer
7. Serves as an evidence in case of dispute
8. Changes in specification changes the contract cost

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Specification of various items of works

• E /W in Excavation Cement Concrete 1:2:4
• Excavation Materials
• Finish of trench • Proportion
• Finds • Hand Mixing
• Water in Foundation • Machine mixing
• Trench Filling • Slump
• Measurement • Formwork
• Laying
• Curing

Chapter 2.0 Detailed Specifications

1. Specifications for Brick masonry in Cement Mortar
 The bricks shall be of first class, regular in shape, size and color.
 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.

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 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 at least 10 days.

2. Specifications 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.

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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.

3. 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.

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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.

4. Plastering works
 Plastering is the finishing coat which protects the masonry and gives a decent look. It also
enhances the hygienic conditions in the building.
 The reference marks (BUNDAS) should be made on the wall in 2″ to 3″ diameter before
starting the plastering work.
 Cement and sand mortar is used in plastering which comprises of different thickness
according to the requirement of site.

 Plastering should be done with cement mortar ratio of 1:3, 1:4, 1:6 etc. as per the
requirements of the work.
 The plaster should be in straight line, leveled, plumbed and the joint must be in right angle.

 Before starting the plaster, the surface should be raked and properly cleaned by wire brush
and it should be wet for 24 hours.
 Door and window frames, water supply lines, electric fittings should be fitted appropriately
before starting the plastering work. They should be laid as per the drawings.
 All unnecessary cement mortar should be removed from the frames and electric fittings
instantly after finishing the plaster.
 Curing of the plastered surface should be done properly. It should be cured at least for 7
days to get desired strength.

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5. Wooden Works

Specification is the process of communicating the designer's intentions to the supplier of the
material. There must be a clear and unambiguous specification for all structural timber
(including framing) required in their design. Specifiers must be able to communicate to
suppliers the appearance properties required for internal applications including linings, joinery,
floors and stairs.
The performance required of different types of timber elements, in turn determines the
properties required. When specifying timber, the following aspects need to be considered:

 Application - the relevant functional requirements for the timber to be used in the
building or structure.

 Performance requirements - appearance, structural performance, service life, initial

cost, ongoing costs.

 Environmental hazards - each application will have a service environment that will
enable the estimation of Environmental Hazard Level. This can be used as a guide for
selecting a species with the right natural durability or for selecting an appropriate
treatment type and level.

The product specified takes into account all of the performance requirements and the
Environmental hazard level. The specification is an unambiguous statement of the material
that best achieves all of the requirements.
Timber is generally specified by cross-section, length, stress grade, as seasoned or
unseasoned, by species or timber group, and treatment. For example:

 90 × 35 5.1 metre MGP10

 190 × 45 4.2 metre F8 seasoned Radiata Pine treated to H3
 150 × 38 3.3 metre F11 unseasoned hardwood.

It is imperative that specifiers check availability before describing any product. In practice,
this is as simple as asking some local suppliers to fax a copy of their current price list. Having
determined local availability, the specifier should choose from only those grades, species and
sizes that are actually available.
Supervision ensures that the specification has been satisfactorily implemented. Specification
generally considers the following criteria:

 Grades - the grading of timber ensures that all timber is able to perform to a minimum
performance requirement and to provide a reliable standard against which a designer
/architect can create a design and specification.

 Quality assurance - to ensure that timber is graded consistently across regardless of

manufacturing source and location a number of quality guidelines and criteria have
been established.

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 Span tables - a number of resources exist to ensure that the correct size of timber is
chosen for the design intent of the designer/architect. Span tables are critical to
ensuring appropriate dimensions and performance is achieved.

 Durability - durability is one of the key performance factors used to assess the
suitability of a timber species for a specific application. The durability rating of a
species is based on the natural ability of the heartwood of that species to resist decay
and insect pests. However, for many species, the durability of sapwood which is
usually not durable, may be increased by preservative treatment.

This section contains the following resource:

 Timber service life design - design guide for durability - this guide will give building and
construction industry professionals the confidence in determining the service life
timber in a wide range of applications, from sole plates to suspension bridges.
 Structural Timber Products Guide - prepared by Wood Products Victoria, this technical
resource provides a comprehensive guide to the range of timber products for
available structural applications. If there is any doubt concerning availability, your
specific suppliers should be consulted before completing design documentation,
specification or ordering.

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