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.

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-column joints, so that all

reinforcements can be properly placed.