Cement, concrete and steel
Cement, concrete and steel decide how strong and durable your structure is. These guides explain the cement types and grades sold in India, concrete mixes and reinforcement bars, and how to check materials on site, with Indian Standards cited by number.
Guides on this topic
Cement, concrete and steel
Cement bags for a 1000 sq ft slab: a worked M20 example
How many 50 kg cement bags, how much sand and aggregate a 1000 sq ft slab needs in M20 concrete, with the working, the assumptions and tables by thickness and area.
Cement, concrete and steel
Cement, sand and aggregate per cubic metre: M5 to M20
How much cement, sand and aggregate 1 cubic metre of nominal M5, M7.5, M10, M15 and M20 concrete needs, with the assumptions shown so you can check any quote.
Cement, concrete and steel
Cement shelf life: how long can cement be stored on site?
How long bagged cement stays usable, what the 3-month best-before date means, how to stack and cover cement on site under IS 4082, and what to do with lumpy stock.
Cement, concrete and steel
How many 12 mm bars in 1 tonne? Weight per metre and a check
A 12 mm bar weighs about 0.889 kg per metre, so 1 tonne is about 1,125 m or 94 rods of 12 m. Weight chart from 6 to 32 mm and how to check a steel delivery.
Cement, concrete and steel
How many days to cure a concrete slab?
How long a concrete slab should be kept wet, why cement type changes the days, how to cure by ponding or wet cloth, and a checklist for the mason on site.
Cement, concrete and steel
OPC vs PPC vs PSC cement: which one for your house?
How OPC, PPC and PSC cement differ in strength gain, heat and durability, and which one suits foundations, slabs and plaster.
Cement, concrete and steel
Sand bulking: why damp sand gives you less sand
What sand bulking is, why a measure of damp sand holds less sand, how to test it with a measuring jar, and how to correct the sand in your mix.
Cement, concrete and steel
TMT bar full form and grades: what Fe500, Fe500D and Fe550D mean
TMT stands for thermo-mechanically treated. What the process does to a steel bar, what the letters and numbers in Fe500, Fe500D and Fe550D mean, and who chooses.
Calculators for this topic
Calculator
Cement, sand and aggregate calculator
Estimate cement bags, sand and aggregate for a nominal-mix concrete slab, footing or beam from its size and mix grade.
Calculator
Steel bar weight calculator
Find the weight of reinforcement bars by diameter, length and number of bars, using the standard D squared over 162 formula.