Thumb rules used
For a typical RCC-framed house or apartment in India, engineers use these rough quantities per sq ft of built-up (plinth) area:
- Cement: 0.4 bags
- Steel: 3.5–4.5 kg
- Sand: about 1.8 cu ft
- Coarse aggregate: about 1.35 cu ft
- Bricks: about 8
- Concrete in the structure: about 0.038 m³
Every value is editable. Load-bearing houses use less steel and more bricks; multi-storey buildings in seismic zones use more steel.
Example
A 1,000 sq ft house needs about 400 bags of cement, 4 tonnes of steel, 1,800 cu ft of sand and 8,000 bricks.
Frequently asked questions
What is plinth area?
The covered built-up area at floor level, including walls. For a multi-floor house, add the area of every floor.
How accurate are thumb rules?
Within 10–20% for ordinary houses. Use them for budgeting; order materials from your engineer's bill of quantities.
How much steel per sq ft for a G+2 house?
Usually 3.5 to 4.5 kg per sq ft. Columns and footings take more on poor soil.
Sources
- ICE embodied carbon database (Circular Ecology) ↗ – carbon per kg of each material
- Bureau of Indian Standards ↗ – IS 456 nominal concrete mixes