; . I ;\1, ~ !

~~: commentary on cPWO$p~ifiq(J.tjQT1S:.-"i9l'{/JWork$ , C1ll",se 5.4.6

15.4.8Curing
After the concrete has begun to harden Le. about 1 to 2 hours after it laying, it shall be protected from ,
quick drying by covering with moist gunny bags, sand, canvCiss hessianor"'any other material approved
bV the Engineer-in-charge. After 24 hours of .laying of concrete, the surface. shall be cured by ponding
wIth water for a minimum period of 7 days from the date of placing ofcqncreteln case of OPC and at least
10 days where mineral admixtures or blended cements are used. 'Ttls"periqd of curing shall not be less
than 10 days for concrete exposed to dry and hot weather conditiqn. Para 4:2.1 0 under Chapter 4, may
also be referred.
5.4.7 Finishing
5.4.7.1 In case of roof slabs the top surface shall be finished even·and smooth with wooden trowel,
before:-the concrete begin~ tq set. ,"'
5.4.7.2 Immediately on removal of forms, the R.C.C. work shan,be examineq.by~theEngineer7in-Charge,
before any defects are made good."" ,., -
(a) The work that has sagged or contains honey combing to an extent detrimental to structural safety
or architectural concept shall be rejected as given in para 5.4.9.4.101' visual inspection test.
(b) Surface defects of a minor nature may be accepted ..-Orf--aeCeptartee'cl such a work by the
Engineer-in-Charge, the same shall be rectified as follows:
1. Surface defects which require repair when forms are removed, l,Isually consist of bulges due
to movement of forms, ridges at form joints, honey-combed area.s, damage resulting from the
stripping of forms and bolt holes, bulges and ridges are removed by careful chipping or tooling
and the surface is then rubbed with a grinding stone. I::lQn~y~qombedand other defective
areas must be chipped out, the edges being cut as straight as possible and perpendicularly to
the surface, or preferably slightly undercut to provide a key at the edge of the patch.
2. Shallow patches are.first treated with a coat of thin grout composed of on~ part of cement and
one part of fine sand and then filledwi,th mol1ar similar to that used in the concrete. The mortar
is placed in layers not more than 10 mm thick and each'layer. is given ascratch:finish to secure
bond with the succeeding layer. The last layer is finished to match the surrounding concrete
by floating, rubbing or tooling on formed surfaces by pressing the form material against the
patch while the mortar is still plastic.
3. Large and deep patches require filling up with concrete held in place by forms. Such patches
are reinforced and carefully dowelled to the hardened concrete.. .
4. Holes left by bolts are filled with mortar car~fully packed into places .in small amounts. The
mortar is mixed as dry as possible, with just enough ....,€lte~§Qt~.t itwiUbe tightly compacted
when forced into place. ""S-. . '.' - .
5. Tiered holes extending right through the concrete may be, fiUed:JY-'i.tl1 mqrta(with a pressure
gun similar to the gun used for greasing motor cars. ". ,,)~, ·.,"vl,.... • , .

6. Normally, patches appear darker than the surrounding",concrete, possibly owing to the
presence on their surface of less cement laitance. Where uniform surface colour is important,
this defect shall be remedied by adding 10 to 20 percent of white portland cement to the
patching mortar, the exact quantity being determined by trial.
7. The same, amount of care to cure the material in the patches ,should be· taken as with the
whole strClcture. Curing must be started as soon as possible, after the patch is finished to
prevent early drying. Damp hessian may be usedbl.\t in some locations it may be difficult to
hold it in place. A membrane curing compound in these cases will be most convenient.
(c) The exposed surface of R.C.C. work shaUbe plastered with. cement mortar 1:3 (1 cement:3 fine
sand) of thickness ri~t exceedjng § m·m'tp1'9iy~,$mS?9jh~~n~,'~y~~r surfrace·true to line and form.
Any RCC surface which remains permanently exposeCfto<vlew In the completed structure, shall
be considered exposed surface for the purpose of this specification;" .
Where such exposed surface exceeding 0.5 sqm in each location is not plastered with cement
mortar 1:3 (1 cement :3 fine sand) 6 mm thick, necessary deduction shall be made .for plastering
'not done.
(d) The surface which is to receive plaster or where it is to be joined with brick masonry wall, shall be
properly roughened immediately after the shuttering is removed, taking care to remove the
laitance completely without disturbing the concrete. The roughening shall be done by hacking.
Before the surface is plastered, it shall be cleaned and wetted so as to give bond between
, concrete and plaster. ' .
RCC work shall be done carefully so that the thickness of plaster required for finishing the surface
.,"is not more than {9 mm. . ,
~.. (e) The surface of RCC slab on which the cement concrete or· mosaic ·floor is to be laid shall be
I roughened with brushes while the concrete is green.,Tffle·~~-withQ\,Jt
I " disturbing the
concrete.
 RELEVANT EXTRACTS FROM CPWD. QUALITY ASSURANCE CIRCLJLARS

'Riche(mix (1: 1.5: 3) or higher grades be used particularly in coastal areas for all columns, external beams, fins, chajjas,
struetul:8l members in/around toilets, exposed concrete, etc. Even in other areas, columns, roof slabs, exposed members around
VV.Csltollet8 should be in such richer mix.
Quality Control & Technical Audit Wing CDO, CPWD

:/:: ; ;.,i

! 7. Hacking of concrete surfaces while green specially for slabs, beams, fins, facias, chalias etc. are practically not being
done in quite a few sites.

EXPLANATORY NOTES AND COMMENTS

Roughening the Surface of Concrete on Removing the ShuUers

, (1)'I,C1.use 5.4.7.2 para (d) & (e) of CPWD Specification specifies that the surface of concrete should be roughened/hacked
fotreceiving the plaster. Even the quality assurance circular dated 29.10.1983 has clearly pointed out the above stipulation and
added t~at the same is not being implemented.
(Ii) The main reason behind non-compliance of this important stipulation by most of,the contractors is the prevailing system
Of execution of works by the contractors.
, ,(ili):The contractor does not generally employ labour directly to do a job but allots the different jobs on labour contract basis.
Thus.-for doing the concreting work he engages a contractor for pouring concrete and another agency for errecting and removing
form work. The contractor engaged for pouring concrete forgets the portion the moment the pouring of concrete is complete and
after few days when the centering contractor removes the shutters. he does not bother to touch the concrete surface as it is not
in his working schedule and responsibility.
(iv)',The result is the plain concreted surface remains untouched till the surface is plastered, and at this stage when the masons
start the work of plastering, neither the contractor nor the Site Engineer are in a position to improve the condition. The mason pours
thick cement slurry on the plain concrete surface and proceeds with the job. Thus, the matter gets covered at least temporarily,
(v) The work can be improved only if the Site Engineer personally takes interest & responsibility. He should be strict enough
and should not permitlhe removal of shutters unless required number of labour and the tools for hacking are available. The moment
the shuttering is removed the hacking can be done so easily that the whole surface can be roughened within a very short time and
thus the durability of finishing can be greatly improved. '

5.4.8 Strength of Concrete

, The compressive strength on work tests for different mixes shall be as given in Table 5 below :-

TABLE 5
Concrete Mix Compressive Strength in (Kglsq cm)
(Nominal Mix on Volume basis) 7 days' 28 days'
1:1:2
1:11/2:3 ;~~I ~~~~'
1:2:4 140 \/ 210

EXPLANATORY NOTES AND COMMENTS

Concrete Mix Design

It is very regretful that though Bureau of Indian Standards had, nearly 38 years back under IS: 456-1964.~dvocated and
insisted that "As far as possible controlled concrete should be used on all concrete works" (designing of concrete mix in those days
was called ·controlled concrete"), Civil Engineers especially of Government Departments and Architects in general, brushed aside
the, recommendations and simply continued the age old practice of proportioning the concrete mix with the most crude method of
balching by even baskets, without bothering about the IS Code.
When the Bureau of Indian Standard revised the above standard in 1978 under IS: 456-1978, it again insisted that "Design
mix is preferred to nominal mix. If design mix concrete cannot be used for any reasOn for work for grades of Mix M-20 or lower,
, ,nominal mix may be used with the permission of Engineer-in-charge which however is likely to involve higher cement content". The
'i . revis~ code changed the grades of concrete from Mix M-l 00 to Mix M·400 as given in IS : 456-1964, to Mix M-1 0 to Mix 1IA-40 under
j1 the unit of N/mm2, and recommend batching all aggregates and cement only by weight.
' '. ~ur~r,isin~ly. thr,C, PWD S~ecificati~n, of ~992, recomm.e.nded only ordinary .miX,',w,',
it,.h,
v"o,I,ume,batc,hin~" f"O,
r,all cO"n,
,cr,ete,w"or,ks,
.,though a leW pages were added on deSign miX, With a specific note that the deSign ml~ ~fJ!sed. ·shall con~JQ.lW~e~,Q!
~ . Mix M-20 and above. Ncthing has been mentioned as to for which item the design mix musi'be~~~~""""""-
oj
.1":
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