How to Check Cement, Steel, Bricks and Sand on Your Site

Good materials are the cheapest insurance for your house. Most problems we see on sites come from materials nobody checked when they arrived. Here are simple checks anyone can do.

Cement

• Check the manufacturing date printed on the bag. Use cement within about three months.
• No lumps. Press the bag — it should feel smooth. Hard lumps mean moisture has got in.
• Weight. A bag should weigh 50 kg. Weigh a few bags from every delivery.
• Storage. Keep bags on a raised wooden platform, away from walls, covered, and stack no more than 10 high.

Steel (sariya)

• Grade marking. Bars are rolled with the maker's name and grade (Grade 40 or Grade 60). Use what the structural drawings specify.
• Weight per length. Weigh a few bars: a #4 bar should weigh about 0.30 kg per foot, a #5 bar about 0.47 kg per foot. Use our steel weight calculator. Bars much lighter than this are under-size.
• Rust. Light surface rust is normal. Flaky, pitted rust is not acceptable.
• Bend test. A bar bent around a small radius should not crack on the outside of the bend.

Bricks

• Size and shape. Bricks should be about 9″ × 4½″ × 3″, with straight edges and sharp corners.
• Sound. Two good bricks struck together give a clear ringing sound. A dull sound means under-burnt bricks.
• Water absorption. Soak a brick for 24 hours: it should not gain more than about 20% of its dry weight.
• No cracks, lime spots or chalky surface.

Sand

• Silt test. Fill a glass bottle half with sand, add salty water, shake and leave for 3 hours. The layer of silt on top should be less than about 8% of the sand height.
• No clay lumps, roots or rubbish.

Crush (bajri)

• Clean and angular, without dust coating or soft, flaky pieces.
• The right size for the job — usually ¾″ down for slabs and beams.

For important projects, send samples to a laboratory. Kataria Engineering arranges material and soil testing — see our free test calculators or contact us.