1. General Earthworks Specification

2. 1.General Requirements: Test borings are generally made and the character of the earth established before working drawings are prepared for construction projects. Specifications should be drawn up in a manner to take care of contingencies below the surface unless local character of the earth is generally known. A contractor should not be forced to assume the risk of encountering poor soil or masses of rock below the surface of the ground.

3. General Earthworks Specification 2.Clearing Site: A specification paragraph should instruct contractor to cut down and otherwise remove trees within building lines and within lines of all walks, terraces and driveways. Contractor should also remove trees indicated to be removed on plot plan. Rubbish caused by the cutting of trees and shrubs should be removed from job site.

4. General Earthworks Specification 3.General Excavation: All excavation should be carried out to the required lengths, depths, inclinations, and curvatures as required for the construction of the permanent works in whatever material that may be found. a)Excavation in soil: The contractor is required to visit the site to ascertain the nature thereof and the kinds of materials to be excavated prior to his submission of the tender.

5. General Earthworks Specification He shall allow in his tender for the cost of excavating all types of soil that he will encounter at the site, and include a separate provision for excavation in rock. The contractor shall be solely responsible for: I.Implementing an adequate method of excavation, safe work sequences, and proper standards of workmanship. II.Providing protection of all excavations from collapse of adjacent ground and properties.

6. General Earthworks Specification III.The safety and integrity of the adjacent properties of the permanent works. If in the opinion of the engineer, the method and sequence of excavation is inadequate in any way, he will reject the excavation proposal. The contractor shall beer additional time and cost to provide a satisfactory alternative method of excavation to comply with the requirements.

7. General Earthworks Specification The engineer shall have the right to order excavation and construction work to be carried out in such lengths and in such sections of the works as in his opinion, will minimize the danger of excavation affecting the stability of any nearby ground. The contractor shall have no claim for any extra payment or time on this account. Whatever necessary for the safety of the workmen or other authorized persons on site, adequate barricades and protective covers shall be provided around all excavations.

8. General Earthworks Specification No excavation in which construction has been completed is to be filled or back-filled before the finished has been inspected and approved by the engineer, failing which the engineer will order the excavation of the fill to expose the permanent work for inspection. The contractor shall be entirely responsible for the cost and extra time of such additional work and inspection.

9. General Earthworks Specification b)Trench Excavation: Trench excavation and all other excavation required for plumbing, heating and electrical work is generally excluded from the Earth Work section since this excavation is made the responsibility of the individual trades involved. c)Rock Excavation: If any rock or boulder is found which is greater than 9 cft (which requires air-hammer to remove), the contractor should notify the architect before removal.

10. General Earthworks Specification If the contractor is ordered to remove the rock, extra compensation should be allowed, based on a unit cost. It always costs the contractor more to remove the stone or boulders where it can not be accomplished by drag pan or power shovel; thus it is only fair that a paragraph of this nature should be included in the Earth Work section.

11. General Earthworks Specification 4.Backfilling: After a building is constructed, it is necessary to backfill around the walls. The specification writer must note that the backfilling should be of earth, free from debris, placed in horizontal layers not over 12” depth. The contractor should be aware that each layer must be thoroughly tamped so that no settlement in completed work will occur.

12. General Earthworks Specification The fill under concrete slabs should be of clean earth also, and be placed in the same manner as specified except in 6” layers instead of 12” layers. As the character of concrete may bring water from the earth up into the building, gravel or crushed stone fill is often specified under the concrete floor slabs.

13. General Earthworks Specification 5.Grading: The general grading of a job is usually done with a drag pan, scraper, or bull-dozer. The specifications should state that the finish grades are to be brought to the levels shown on the drawings and should be sloped to drain water away from the building.

14. General Concrete Works Specification

16. General Concrete Construction

17. 1.Scope of work The work covered by specification shall consist of furnishing all labor, materials, permits, and related miscellaneous work necessary to complete the work as specified or as shown on the drawings. The concrete work under the specification shall include all clearing and grubbing, furnishing and placing concrete, and construction of fills and embankments, unless such items appear of the proposal to be bid separately.

18. It is the intent of these specifications that a sub- grade of uniform stability be obtained by a suitable construction method for placement of concrete.

19. 2.Material: All materials shall be so delivered, stored, and handled as to prevent the inclusion of foreign materials and the damage of materials by water or breakage. Package materials shall be delivered and stored in original packages until ready to be used. Packages or materials showing evidence of water or other damage shall be rejected.

20. Unless otherwise specified or ordered by the Engineer, the cement shall be ordinary Portland cement complying with Standard. Each consignment of cement shall be delivered to the site at least two weeks before it is required for use.

21. the Contractor shall supply the Engineer with a copy of the manufacturer's test certificate for each consignment. Water supplied by the local water undertaking only shall be used for mixing concrete, mortar and grout. It shall be free from organic or other harmful substances in solution or suspension. Sand (fine aggregate) for concrete work shall not contain more than 1% clay or 1% coal when tested.

22. Coarse Aggregate shall be composed of hard, strong crystalline rock free form shale or other soft materials. Unless the plans show differently, the base under all concrete work shall be a minimum of 6 inches deep and shall be constructed of selected gravel or crushed stone.

23. 3. Form: Forms shall conform to the shape, lines and dimensions indicated on the drawings. They shall be substantial and sufficiently tight to prevent leakage of mortar, and shall not deflect under the weight of the wet concrete or construction loads. Forms shall be assembled in such a manner as to facilitate their removal without damage to the concrete. Plywood panel forms or steel forms may be used with the approval of the Engineer.

24. Forms shall not be disturbed until the concrete has hardened adequately to carry its own weight and other loads that may occur. The inside surface of wood forms shall be oiled before any concrete is placed.

25. 4.Mixing: The mix shall be as dry as possible to work the concrete. In no case shall there be more than 6-1/2 gallons of water per bag of cement used. The proportioning of fine and coarse aggregate shall be such that the ratio of coarse to fine shall be no less than 1 to 1 or more than 2 to 1. Concrete shall be mixed in a batch mixer after all the materials are in the mixer drum.

26. Mixing shall continue until there is a uniform distribution of materials. The mixer shall rotate at a peripheral speed of about 200 feet per minute. All concrete shall be transported from the mixer to the place of final deposit as speedily as possible, and in no case shall this exceed 20 minutes after mixing. The method of transit shall be such that it will prevent the segregation, loss or contamination of the ingredients.

27. 5.Placing Concrete: Place all concrete on clean surfaces, free from water, or upon properly consolidated fills, but never upon soft mud or dry porous earth.

28. General Concrete Construction Deposit concrete continuously and as rapidly as practical until the unit of operation is completed. Consolidate all concrete by vibration so that the concrete is thoroughly worked around the reinforcement, and into corners of forms, eliminating all air which may cause weakness. Use mechanical vibrators with a minimum frequency of 7,000 revolutions per minute, operated by competent workmen.

29. General Concrete Construction 6.Depositing against other concrete: Before depositing new concrete on or against concrete that has hardened, the surface of the hardened concrete shall be roughened as required, thoroughly cleaned of foreign matter, and moistened with water.

30. General Concrete Construction 7.Defective work: Any concrete work not formed as shown on the plans or for any reason is out of alignment or level or shows a defective surface shall be considered as not conforming with the intent of these specifications and shall be removed from the job by the Contractor at his expense.

31. Surface finish

32. General Concrete Construction 8.Surface finish of concrete: After removal of forms, all metal devices used to tie forms together and hold them to correct alignment and location shall be removed. Immediately after the removal of forms, all cavities produced by removal of form ties and all other holes, shall be thoroughly saturated with water and carefully pointed with a mixture of cement and fine aggregate mixed in the same proportions used in the concrete being treated.

33. General Concrete Construction Mortar used in pointing shall be not more than one hour old and shall be kept moist for a period of 24 hours after it is placed.

34. Brick Work a)Scope of work: The work covered under this specification pertains to procurement of best quality locally available stock bricks and workmanship in buildings walls of various thicknesses in strict compliance with the specifications and applicable drawings.

35. Brick Work b) Materials: Brick shall be best quality locally available stock bricks and samples shall be got approved by the Engineer-in charge before incorporation in the work on large scale and maintain the same for the entire work. The nominal size of bricks shall be 23 cm x 11.5 cm x 7.5 cm (9"x4.5”x2.75”). Permissible tolerance on dimensions shall be +/-3 mm in length & +/- 1.5 mm in width/thickness.

36. Brick Work If the plastering to be done is more than the specified thickness to bring the plaster surface to perfect line and level with adjoining columns, beams, walls etc., the contractor shall be responsible to provide more thickness of plaster at his own cost and nothing extra will be paid on this account.

37. Brick Work In case the size of bricks used in the work, found more than the permissible, the contractor shall chip out the exposed edges of bricks up to the required level of wall to receive specified thickness of plaster. Minimum crushing strength shall not be less than 35 Kg/cm² and water absorption shall not be more than 15% by the weight. Bricks shall be thoroughly soaked in water before using till the bubbles cease to come up.

38. Brick Work No half or quarter brick shall be used except as closer. The closers shall be cut to required size and used near the end of the walls. The walls shall be raised truly to plumb. The type of bond to be adopted shall be properly done (Stretcher/English/Flemish), but vertical joints shall be laid staggered.

39. Brick Work

40. c) Workmanship: Four courses of brickwork with four joints should not exceed by more than 40mm. (1.6 inch) the same bricks piled one over the other without mortar. Brickwork shall not be raised more than 10 courses a day unless otherwise approved by the Engineer-in- charge. The brickwork shall be kept wet for at least 10 days.

41. Brick Work Brickwork shall be uniformly raised around and no part shall be raised more than 1.0 meter above another at any time. All joints shall be thoroughly flushed with mortar of mix as specified in the schedule of quantities, at every course. Care shall be taken to see that the bricks are bedded effectively and all joints completely filled to full depth.

42. Brick Work The surface of brickwork shall be cleaned down and watered properly before the mortar sets. The adhesion between the brick masonry surface and the concrete surface of columns, beams, lintels etc. should be proper by ensuring that the concrete surface coming in contact with brick masonry is chipped, cleaned and cement is applied so that proper bond is achieved between the two dissimilar materials.

43. Brick Work The mortar should completely cover the bed and sides of the bricks. Proper care should be taken to obtain uniform mortar joint throughout the construction. the walls should be raised uniformly in proper, approved bond. All the courses shall be laid truly horizontal and vertical.

44. Brick Work Deviation shall not exceed 6 mm per 3m height. Deviation from position shown on plan of any brickwork shall not exceed 12.5mm.

45. Brick Work The rates for brickwork shall include the cost of the following: 1. Providing and fixing necessary single or double scaffolding and removing the same after the works are completed. 2. Watering, curing, and lifting of materials to any height. 3. Raking out of joints to receive plaster.

46. Brick Work 4. Forming slab sittings, cutting or leaving holes for windows, doors, sills, switch boxes etc. 5. Making holes to any depth due to conduit pipes, bolts, switch and plug boxes etc. 6. Bedding pre-cast lintels on walls.

47. Quiz-2 Write any one: Specification of General Excavation for earth work. Specification of Materials for concrete work.