Good Construction Practices

Congratulations on your new home!

We are happy for you. A dream you’ve cherished for very long will soon come alive. To help you realize it without any compromises we offer you our expertise.

At Bharathi Cement, we are obsessed with quality. From the first stage to the last, our cement is tested at every stage. Using the world renowned Narzi limestone we produce cement that has higher strength, low manganese and low alkalies.

Today, we bring the same expertise and commitment to quality, as we offer you the following suggestions to make a beautiful home.

Land: A square or a rectangular plot is ideal for construction.

Cement: Use strong and superior quality Bharathi Cement.

Aggregate: For the columns, beams,foundation and slab use stone with 20mm thickness.

Sand: It is best if you use clean, dirt-free sand.

Water: Only use clean, pure water. Saline water not just weakens the cement but causes the iron used for construction to rust.

Iron: Use BIS approved iron.

Foundation: Keep in mind the nature of the land and soil where you’re building your house.

Plinth level: The height of the current road level and any future changes to this level will help determine the optimum plinth level.

Good Construction Practices2

Concrete: The ideal ratio of the concrete mixture should be 1:1½:3 (1 cement: 1½ sand:3 aggregate).

If you use PPC while preparing concrete,for every bag you need to use 24 litres of water.
There should be no gaps in the shuttering. Using oil while shuttering will help.
Always mix concrete using a machine.
Avoid concrete work when the weather is too warm or too cold.
Iron bars should be covered with concrete up to a height of 15mm.
Do not put concrete higher than 5ft of the columns.
It is advisable to use a vibrator.

Bricks and brick work:

For a wall of 9 inches thickness, the mixture should be of the ratio 1:6 (1 cement:6 sand).
Use the cement, sand and water mixture within 45 mins.
The joint between the bricks should not be one
above the other.
If you have to end the length of the wall, do so
at an angle of 45 degrees.

Some more tips:

Do not use black soil under the flooring.
There should be some gap between the slab and the water tank.
If you need to do plastering on the slab, it is best to do so right after putting the slab.
Apply primer or tar behind the door frames.
The height of a stair should not be more than 15 cms

Plastering:

Start plastering only after you’ve watered the bricks completely.
Mix cement and sand in the ratio of 1:6
(1 cement:6 sand) for inner plastering of bricks. And for outer plastering mix it in the ratio of 1:4.
On a brick wall never do plastering of thickness more than 12 or 15mm.
At one go, avoid plastering of more than 12mm thickness.
On concrete do not do plastering of more than 6mm thickness.
Do not plaster on concrete without hacking.
Plastering on concrete should be in the ratio of 1:3.
Use a mesh while plastering the electric and water pipes.

Curing:

For the cement to be strong, curing is very essential. You must do the curing for at least 14 days,continuously.
The more curing you do, the better it is.

Slow setting cement is always the best.
The color of cement has nothing to do with the strength of the cement.
If too much water is used, concrete loses its strength.