7stepsHere you'll learn about the 7 stages ofconstruction that go into the making of yourdream home. From 'Excavation & Setting Out'right until 'Flooring'you'll find good practices tofollow, the right proportion of material mixesand tips on making your home earthquakeresistant.

1 Excavation & Setting Out

This is the first activity in your buildingproject. It is needed for the foundations andbasement of your house, undergroundwater tank, septic tank, laying drainage,water lines & electric cables.

Excavating in black cotton soil?

Good PracticePit size for excavation should be minimum of 30cm larger than the PCC size on all sides.

Increase the pit size as the depth increases.

As the depth increases, the sides begin to crumbleand collapse. Brace the sides with tight shoringwork.

Never start excavation of 2 adjacent pitssimultaneously.

Avoid excavation on rainy days.

Marking

• Insist on a marking plan (also known as Centrelinedrawing) from your architect.

• Ensure that the drawing details are diligentlytransferred to the ground.

• Have the workersplace pegs onground tillfoundation workis complete andconstruction ofwalls is ready tobegin.

Remember, any mistakes in marking would bepermanent and costly to correct. So take great care inmarking out your house well.

2. Foundation & Plinth

The foundation provides anchor to yourhouse; and when Mother Earth grips themtight your structure above the groundbecomes stable. The plinth further offsetsthe load from the walls and distributes ituniformly over the foundation.

Good PracticeNo harm in making your foundations strongerthan necessary. After all, your house has to lastfor generations! Keep a provision for one morestorey you might add later.

Place the foundation of your house on hardstrata, ensure that you carry out excavationuntil hard strata is reached.

Checklist for plinth work• Check the distance between masonry walls for room

dimensions.

" Control the mixof concretecarry outcompactionby means of avibrator.

• Remove all grass shrubs and loose material from theplinth area.

• Check and maintain proper sunken levels forbathrooms.

Make your house earthquake resistant !

Keep the foundation as you normally would,with just a steel rod inserted that goes all theway down into the foundation.

Package the steel rod with cement-sandmortar filling all around.

Termite attack? No problem!Termites rise from the soil and should be eliminatedright there, at the source. Always get anti-termitetreatment done for the foundations. Spray the mixtureon the bed and sides of the foundation trenches, using5 litres of the solution per square metre area.

Later when the foundation has been raised and backfilling done, spray the solution again on the filled upground.

Perfect MixPrepare a solution of 0.5% Heptachlor, 1%Chlordane, and 1 % Chloropyrifos, and mix withwater.

3 Brickwork

Bricks are one of the most common buildingmaterials. To build a strong house, use goodquality bricks. Clay is the most commonmaterial used in the making of bricks.

Make your house earthquake resistant!

Avoid formation of fault lines i.e. the bricksshould not overlap in a straight line. Keep theorientation of bricks different for each layer.

Where should you place doors and

windows? Do not keep doors andwindow openings close toa corner. Keep everyopening, door or window,at least 2'from a corner.

Keep a minimum distance of 2' between adjacentopenings, such as for example between a door and anearby window on the same wall.

Avoid too many openingson the same wall.For a 10' room, the totalopening size should notexceed 4', in a single-storeyed house

Keep the lintel bandcontinuous; ideally at plinthlevel, at sill level, and at thelevel above the doorway.

How to test for a good brick?Drop a brick vertically from aheight of 1 m. A good qualitybrick will not break.

Strike two bricks against eachother. Good quality bricks willproduce a clear ringing soundon contact.

Perfect MixFor a 4" thick wall (partition walls in the middle ofthe house), keep mortar proportion as = 1:4 •(cement:sand)

For a 9" wall (outer wall), keep mortar proportionas = 1:6 (cement:sand)

Good PracticeBegin work at the corners, first to a height of 3 or4 layers with base extending in steps.

Place all bricks on their bed.The depression on topprovides space for the mortarto bond well. Use line-string,plumb bob, and spirit level forchecking alignment, and tokeep vertical and horizontallines straight.

Soak your bricks in water for 8 hours at leastbefore use, else it will absorb moisture frommortar.

Plastering protects the surface of the masonryfrom the elements, especially rain. It provideslateral stability by binding all bricks and alsoprotects the joints.

Perfect MixOutside plaster = 1:4 (cement:sand)Internal plaster = 1:5Roof plaster = 1:3

Good Practice

Keep the wall slightly wet before starting theplastering. Dry walls absorb plaster, this leadsto shedding of plaster after some time.

Do not prepare entire mix for the day at onego. Prepare in small quantities so that it is usedup in an hour's time.

Use chicken wire mesh for plastering jointsbetween concrete and brickwork.Ensure continuous curing for 10-14 days.

This is a commonly followed roofing practice,and refers to laying a slab of ReinforcedCement Concrete (RCC) on the supportingwalls, columns, beams of the house.

Make your house earthquake resistant!

Provide for a band withsteel rods at plinth level,i.e. just where the wallstarts above the foundation.

Provide for a band also at lintel level i.e. abovedoor/window level, running all through the building.

1 Strengthen all corners andjunctions with steel rodsgoing down into thefoundation.

Perfect MixThe composition of concrete for slab casting worksshould be = 1:1.5:3 (cement:sand:coarse aggregates) •

How to avoid leakage in the roof?• Use concrete in the correct proportion with water•

proofing compounds also added in the mix.

• Compact the concrete well with an appropriatevibrator (surface/plate vibrator) to free all air pockets.

Good PracticeUse cover blocks (tied to the steel bars) to keep thebars in place, and to prevent them from exposureto air.

Treat the face of formworkwith form release agents,a mix of diesel and greasefor example.

Keep the surface continuously moist for 10-14days.

Keep the formwork tightand leak-proof, to preventcement-sand-water fromleaking.

Steel rods should be free of rust, oil, paints, ormud.

13 Waterproofing

6. Waterproofing

Waterproofing maintains the appearance ofthe building and increases the life of thestructure. For good water-proofing work,selection of quality material andworkmanship is important.

Waterproofing your terrace? Here's how

Prepare the surface• Chisel away the extra mortar gathered on the terrace

using a chisel and hammer.• Clean the terrace thoroughly with water.• Add 1 bag of cement to 100 litres of water, stir the

mixture to get a consistent cement slurry.

• Spread the slurry onthe terrace and allowit to penetrate uniformlyover the cleaned surface.

Brick bat coba coat• Fix brick bats in cement mortar layer of 1:6 proportion

with water-proofing compound in a slope of 1:150.• Fill cement mortar in 1:4 proportion with water-

proofing compound in the brick bat joints.• Ensure a rounded lining near the rain water pipe.• Cure for 7 days.

Final coat• Spread cement mortar in 1:4 proportion with water-'

proofing compound over the brick bat coba, and levelsurface with a wooden float.

• Apply thick cement slurry over leveled surface, alongwith water-proofing compound for a smooth finish.

• Make a tile pattern 1' x V of 3 mm thickness, toprevent cracking of the top layer.

• Clean and cure the final coat for 21 days with at least6" water standing on the water-proofing.

Water-proofing your chajja? Here's how

• Clean the top of the chajja, and chisel extra mortar ifany.

• Apply a thick cement slurry over the top of the chajja.

• Apply 1:1.5:3 metal screed coat over the slurry.

• Ensure a rounded lining near the rain water pipe.

• Cure for 7 days.

• Apply a finishing coat with cement mortar in 1:4proportion with the water-proofing compound.

Pre-monsoon precautions! Avoid leakages beforethe rains set in

• Clean all rain water pipes.

• Clean terrace and do not allow any organic material toremain on surface.

Perfect Mix1:6 (cement mortarrwater-proofing compound) forlaying brick bats. •

1:4 (cement mortar:water-proofing compound) inbrick bat joints.

Remember!In your enthusiasm to damp-proof your house, do not exceed thedosage quantities. Excessive quantity of the water-proofingcompound or admixture will have a negative effect on quality ofconcrete.

Flooring 16

flooringThe floor of your house is the basis for itsresidents, the furniture and equipment; in short itprovides a horizontal surface for your lifestyle. Allfloors should provide strength and stability,resistance to dampness, excellent appearance,and should be free of maintenance.

Choose your floor finish

Cement concrete floorsWears well, and is easy to clean and maintain. For lesserfloor thicknesses, use aggregate upto 1/2"size.

Perfect Mix

1:1.5:3(cement:sand:coarse aggregates)

Terrazzo/Marble chips f loor ingMarble chips are laid on a layer of cement concrete. Thetopping (also known asTerrazzo) is laid while the underlayer is still plastic, but has hardened sufficientlyenough.

Perfect Mix

Under layer = 1:2:4 (cement:sand:coarseaggregates), 1" thick

Top layer = 3:1 (cementmarble powder); 1.5:1(marble chips:binder)

Tile FlooringTile flooring makes for a beautiful appearance, and canbe executed quickly. Ceramic and vitrified tiles are verypopular; they don't require grinding or polishing andare strong.

1:6(cement:sand)

Laying tiles?

Good Practice

Perfect Mix

Immerse tiles in water 3-4 hours prior to laying.

Aminimumof7 days of curing is recommendedafter tiles are fixed.

Lay your tiles after thebedding has been sufficientlylevelled and lightlycompacted.

Flooring for your balcony?

Good PracticeGive a proper slope to allow water to flow throughthe spout.

Fix the spout 10"away from the side wall to preventwater from stacking inside the balcony area.

Know your Materials

BrickBricks are one of the most common buildingmaterials. To build a strong house, use goodquality bricks. Clay is the most commonmaterial used in the making of bricks. You'llfind 2 kinds of bricks in your neighbourhood -country bricks and wire cut bricks. Wire cutbricks are costlier than country bricks.To givea fair idea of the cost, wire cut brick arecostlier to country bricks by 25-30%.

How to test for a good brick?

Strike two bricks against each other. Good quality brickswill produce a clear ringing sound on contact.Drop a brick vertically from a height of 1 m. A good qualitybrick will not break.

Keep a brick immersed in a water tank for 24 hours andthen check its weight. If there is more than a 15% differencebetween the dry and wet weights of the brick, it is not fitfor use. E.g. Assume the weight of a dry brick is 2 kgs.After soaking in water for 24 hours, if it weighs 2.3 kgs ormore, the brick is not fit for use.

Building a wall?

Good Practice

Ensure the bricks have been soaked inwater for 8 hours before beginning work.Place all bricks on their bed.The depression on topprovides space for the mortarto bond well. Use line-string,plumb bob, and spirit level forchecking alignment, and tokeep vertical and horizontallines straight.

Begin work at the corners, first to a heightof 3 or 4 layers with base extending in steps.

Joints should be raked and finished witha trowel.Build to a maximum of 1 m wall height daily.

Remember!Keep systematic bond throughout the brickwork, verticaljoints should be staggered and not continuous.

For a 4" thick wall (partition walls in themiddle of the house), keep mortarproportion as = 1:4 (cementsand)

For a 9" wall (outer wall), keep mortarproportion as = 1:6 (cement:sand)

These are small pieces of stone gravelwhich give strength to the concrete.Generally, they come in 2 sizes- 20 mm and10 mm. Stone dust is used as fine aggregateand stone pieces as coarse aggregate. Theymake 70-75% of total volume and give bodyto the concrete.

Good Practice

Ensure that the pieces do not contain clay,mud or dirt particles.The space between big pieces of aggregatesshould be filled up by small pieces. Thevacant space between small pieces shouldbe filled up by sand. This makes theconcrete dense.Generally 20 mm and 10 mm aggregate ratioof 60:40 and 70:30 offers best results.

Buying aggregate? Remember.Suppliers will quote the price of aggregates per cubic footor cubic metre or even per truck. At the time of delivery domeasure the quantity.

Do not procure aggregates of uniform size, they tend toleave voids in between, which reduces total weight.

Watch Out!

If the content of 10 mm stone is lowered,sand requirement goes up and willconsequently require more water. In turn,water quantity per bag of cement willincrease, leading to late setting and poorquality of concrete.

SteelAlthough concrete has good compressivestrength, it does not withstand tension orbending stresses by itself. To overcomethis, steel rods are placed inside concreteto provide strength. It forms the basis ofthe concrete structure and is generally laidout in a circular cross section calledReinforced Cement Concrete (RCC).

For building your house you would need6 to 20 mm diameter bars. Thermo-mechanically treated (TMT) bars withadded features (twisted or ribbed steel) arealso available. Every bar is of 11 m lengthand weighs 0.64 kg/m.

Lap length (the overlap between a bar and the nextextension) should be 50 times the diameter of the bar.Stagger the laps for even distribution of strength; a maximumof 50% bars should be lapped per section. If required laplength is not available at the junction due to space/materialconstraints, use couplers or weld properly. Anchorage length(extra length of steel from one structural member intoanother at the junction) should generally be equal to Laplength.

Sand

Sand is an ingredient of mortar for plasteringbrickwork, and is also used as aggregate to fillvoids while concrete is made.

How to check for quality?Take a handful of sand and press it in your palm. If there ismud, dirt or any other contamination, it will stick to your palm.Such sand has too much silt and clay to be of use inconstruction.

Try this simple test. Fill a glass container with sand upto half itscapacity and pour clear water three quarters full. Shake itvigorously and let it settle for half an hour. Clean sand willsettle at the bottom immediately. Clay or silt in the sand willmake the water muddy and will settle slowly on top of thesand (add one teaspoonful of sand to quicken the process). Thethickness of silt/clay layer should not be more than 4% of thesand layer. If higher, the sand must be washed before use.

Good PracticeClean sand through a wire mesh so that mud pieces,shells and other impurities are well isolated.

Watch Out!Wet sand can cause problems! Sand that contains moisturebefore mixing causes the particles to increase in volume. This iscalled Bulking. For example, sand with 6% moisture contentshows around 30% bulking. This means you need to addapproximately 30% extra sand. You would therefore also need tocorrect the volume of water in the mix.Construction labourers tend to add a lot of water, sometimesmore than required. If the sand being used is already wet, thenmore water will weaken the mix. If you find the sand being usedis already wet, instruct your contractors to add water judiciously.The sand you use should have no clay, dirt, mica, or sea shells!

CementCement is a binder, which along with waterbinds together a mixture of sand andaggregates to make concrete. Proper selectionof cement guarantees a strong and stableconstruction.

Cement types- what to use and when?

Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC)Available in grades like 33,43, 53. Good for brickjoining, plastering.

Blended cementAlso known as Composite cement, or Pozzolonacement. Good for all general construction, such asconcreting, brick joining and plastering.

Why use Blended Cement?

It gives concrete better strength and durability.

Reduces leaching (washed up lime that comesout and weakens construction.

Prevents crack formation as less heat is let outas it sets.

Resists chemical attacks from elements inground, air or water.

Requires less water to prepare concrete. Incomparison to OPC, it uses 10% less water.

Did you know?

What 33,43 & 53 grades if cement mean?33,43, and 53 grade means that at 28 days, the cementmortar cube has a compressive strength of at least 33,43, and 53 MPa {Mega Pascals) respectively.

Does the colour of cement have bearingon its quality?No, quality is determined by the colour and quantity ofraw materials used.

Does a higher grade of cement ensurebetter results?The grade only indicates its compressive strength at 28days! But cement continues to increase in strengthbeyond that period of time for much longer. Blended orComposite cements render higher strengths for alonger duration.

How can I store cement safely?Water is enemy no.1 of cement during storage.Ensure that cement is kept free of moisture whilestoring. Storage area should have concrete floorraised at least 150 mm above ground level, withairtight doors and windows. At site, cementshould be kept on a raised platform and coveredwith a tarpaulin.

Should I use cement that sets quickly?Quick setting of cement depends not only on thequality of cement but also on the quantity ofwater used in preparing the mix. Wait that littleextra for your cement to set slowly and gain instrength. Do not look for premature results, giveconcrete adequate time to set properly and attainfull strength.

deteriorate. So move cement in and out ofthe store in a first-in-first-out method.Use cement within 2-3 months from the dateof manufacture.

How to test for good quality cement?Take a little cement and make a paste adding 1/4thquantity of water. Make little cubes of 50 x 50 x 20mm size. Leave aside for a day. Test the blocks tosee how easily they break. If the cement is of goodquality the blocks will be firm and will not crumbleor break if you try to crush it with the pressure ofyour lingers.