Guides
Every guide is drafted by an AI model (Claude) working for the site owner and approved by a civil engineer before it is published. Each page shows who reviewed it and when. Guides are grouped by topic below.
Foundation and structure
Foundation and structure
Concrete for an isolated footing: a worked quantity example
How to work out the concrete, cement, sand and aggregate for one isolated column footing, with an illustrative 5 ft by 5 ft by 1.5 ft example. It is not a design.
Foundation and structure
What is a plinth beam? Purpose, position and who designs it
What a plinth beam is, why houses have one at plinth level, how it differs from a tie beam, and what to ask your structural engineer before work starts.
Cement, concrete and steel
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.
Walls, bricks and blocks
Walls, bricks and blocks
Brick and block sizes in India: red, fly ash and AAC
Standard sizes of red clay bricks, fly ash bricks and AAC blocks in India, how they differ for walling, and how many AAC blocks 100 sq ft of wall takes.
Walls, bricks and blocks
How many bricks for 100 sq ft of wall? Assumptions shown
About 968 bricks for 100 sq ft of 9 inch wall and 484 for 4.5 inch by physical count, 927 and 464 by calculator. Brick sizes, mortar and a worked room example.
Walls, bricks and blocks
Mortar ratio for brick walls: 1:4, 1:5 or 1:6?
Which cement-sand mortar ratio, 1:4, 1:5 or 1:6, goes into brickwork, how much cement and sand 100 sq ft of wall needs for each, and why richer is not always better.
Walls, bricks and blocks
Red brick vs fly ash brick vs AAC block: how to choose for walls
How red clay bricks, fly ash bricks and AAC blocks differ in strength, weight, water absorption and plastering under Indian Standards, and what to ask your supplier.
Walls, bricks and blocks
Which walls can be 4.5 inch? Load-bearing and partition walls
Which brick walls in an Indian house can be 4.5 inch and which need 9 inch or more, how load-bearing walls differ from partitions and infill, and who decides.
Plaster, paint and waterproofing
Plaster, paint and waterproofing
Hairline cracks in plaster: causes and what to do
Why fine hairline cracks appear in cement plaster, which ones are harmless, which signs need an engineer, and how to repair and prevent them.
Plaster, paint and waterproofing
Terrace leakage and waterproofing: methods, slope and ponding test
Why terraces leak, how much slope and how many outlets to plan, what brick bat coba weighs, how high to turn up the parapet, and how to run a ponding test.
Plumbing and electrical basics
Plumbing and electrical basics
Water tank leakage: how to find the source and fix it
How to tell if a water tank is really leaking, the IS 3370 level-drop test, common leak points, how concrete and plastic tanks are repaired, and when to call an engineer.
Planning, rules and approvals
Planning, rules and approvals
Best time to build a house in Delhi: monsoon or winter?
When to start and when to cast the roof slab for a house in Delhi, how the monsoon, winter and summer change the work, and why winter air-quality rules matter.
Planning, rules and approvals
Land area units in India: cent, guntha, gaj, marla, kanal, acre
How many square feet are in a cent, guntha, gaj, marla, kanal, ground and acre, where each unit is used, worked plot examples, and why bigha differs by state.
Planning, rules and approvals
Stages of house construction in India: checklist and inspection points
The stages of building a house in India, in order, with what to check before each one is covered or built over, and links to the detailed guides for each stage.