Understanding and Purchase Basic Materials of the Construction 8

The reader must have finalized by now the technology and the materials that are going to be used in the
new construction. Now it is important to understand the basic materials of construction that are to be
purchased. Quality of what you purchase could have a great influence on the performance of your house in
a disaster.

A. Selection criteria and tips for purchasing construction materials.

1. Burnt Bricks

Must be of uniform size, preferably of 9” x 4 ½” x

3” (230 X 110 X 75) with a groove in one broad
face. Must be uniform reddish brown in colour and
give metallic ring when struck.

Must be free from lime particles. which upon

wetting, expand and crack the bricks.

Must be free from visible cracks, warpage, broken It should not break when dropped on its flat face
or crumbling edges. from a height of 3'3" (1m.) on a hard surface.

Purchase of Bricks:
• Decide the rate for 1000 bricks delivered and unloaded at site.
• Bricks are ordered by the quantity transported to site in a truck or a tractor.
• Breakage of bricks at the time of delivery should not be more than 5% .

The laborers must not throw the bricks on the While unloading, the bricks must be neatly stacked
ground. This can cause heavy breakage to the bricks. at a spot nearest to the construction site.

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8 Understanding and Purchase of the Basic Materials of Construction

A. Selection criteria and tips for purchasing construction materials (cont.)

2. Concrete Blocks

• Block must be made with vibration using concrete mix 1 : 4 : 8 or richer.

• Must be free from cracks, distortions, broken or crumbling edges.

Hollow Concrete Blocks Solid Concrete Blocks

• Blocks are generally available in two types: (I) Hollow blocks, (ii) Solid blocks
• Hollow-block wall thickness: Minimum 1.5” (35mm). The cavity can be squarish or circular.
• Both types can be used for hazard resistant construction.

Selection Criteria and Quality Requirements

Hollow blocks allow easy While using solid blocks, special “Key hole” makes installation of
installation of vertical bar within blocks with keyhole are required vertical reinforcement easy and
the masonry. to install the vertical bar. fast.

Must be of standard size: 6” Blocks with shallow grooves on Blocks must be well cured, hard,
height x 8” x 12” (150 x 200 x top face or vertical grooves on and of uniform size. If buying
300). It is better if top and bottom the smaller faces are preferred. freshly made blocks, then keep
surfaces are not smooth finished. them wet for at least 15 days

Purchase of Blocks:
• With the supplier decide on the rate per block.
• Generally the delivery and unloading at site is decided with a separate agency, depending on the
number of blocks required.
• Blocks must be neatly stacked at a spot not too far from where the delivery vehicle stops.
• Breakage of blocks at the time of delivery must not be more than 5%

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Understanding and Purchase of the Basic Materials of Construction 8
A. Selection criteria and tips for purchasing construction materials (cont.)

3. Stone

• Different types of stones are found in different parts of the country including sand stone, lime stone,
slate, marble, granite, basalt or trap, laterite etc.
• Selection Criteria: Follow the local practice about the type and source since stones vary significantly
from place to place. If stone can be scratched with a knife it is not a hard stone.

Good building stone should be Avoid the use of very porous Stones with rounded shapes
hard, tough, compact grained, stone. It should not absorb more commonly found in river valleys
uniform in texture and color and than 5% of its weight of water must be avoided.
free from cracks. after 24 hour immersion.

Stones can be used in variety of ways. But the most common ways are:

Random Rubble Ashlar

• Stones are not uniform in size.
• For construction the exterior face needs to be
properly shaped.
• The corners and edges of other faces are broken
with a hammer to fit them well with adjacent
stones in the wall.
• If properly used with disaster resisting features,
it can give safety to its occupants.
• All stones are uniform in size with all faces
properly shaped.
• They are arranged in the masonry such that the
joints get broken.
• Ashlar construction looks better and is stronger,
but it is very expensive.

Purchase of Stone:
• Generally the rate is by truck load or tractor load.
• The rate should include delivery charge as well as unloading at the site.
• For random rubble wall, more than 70% stones must have one dimension that is more than 10”
(250mm) and around 5% stones must have one dimension 18” (450mm), that is equal to the wall
thickness for use as 'Through stones'.
• For Ashlar stones, follow local practice in deciding the size.
• The quantity of stone to be ordered must be 20% more than the volume of the wall for RR walls and
30% more in case of Ashlar wall.

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8 Understanding and Purchase of the Basic Materials of Construction

A. Selection criteria and tips for purchasing construction materials

4. Sand:
Selection Criteria:
• Sand should be clean, free of organic matters
• For masonry work, cement concrete and the
like leaves, grass, roots etc.
first coat of plaster, the sand should pass
• Use sand procured from a river or an excavated
through a sieve of 2mmX2mm mesh, and for
pit.
finer works, such as pointing or second coat of
• Never use sand from sea.
plastering, sand should pass through 1
• Clay and silt in the sand should be less than 10%
mmX1mm sieve.
by volume of sand, otherwise it should be
• Sand required for brick-masonry must be finer
washed. When it is held in one's fist, it should
than that for stone-masonry.
not stick but feel gritty.

5. Aggregate (Gravel used in making concrete):

Selection Criteria:
• For load bearing concrete, the aggregates
should be of hard, strong, dense and non-
porous, broken, angular stones.
• It should not absorb more than 10% of its
weight of water after 24 hours of immersion in
water.
• Do not use round river stones or sandstone
aggregates.
• It should be clean, and free from organic
impurities etc.
• or general concreting, ½” (10mm) to
7/8”(20mm) size aggregates are used.
• For micro-concrete the size of aggregates will
vary from ¼” (5mm) to ½” (10mm).

Purchase of Sand and aggregates:

• Purchase rate is based on its volume.
• A truck load is 3 Brass or 300cu.ft, a tractor load is 1 Brass or 100cu.ft. Smaller quantities also can be
purchased depending on the quantum of work on hand.
• Larger the quantity, lower would be the rate.
• Rate includes the cost of delivery at site including the unloading.
• When buying a truck-load or a tractor load, make sure that it is full to the rim and top surface of the
loaded material is level

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Understanding and Purchase of the Basic Materials of Construction 8
A. Selection criteria and tips for purchasing construction materials

6. Cement:

For house construction in normal temperature and weather conditions, Portland Cement as well
as Pozzolonic Cement are available.

a. Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC):

Tips for Selection and Use:

• It is available in 43 and 53 grade. For small
projects like house construction, use the 43
grade cement. It requires less water for curing
than the 53 grade.
• If adequate curing is not done, 53 grade cement
can develop fine cracks while setting.
• Always buy fresh cement bags. Good fresh
cement will always be in fine powder form.
• It should be purchased in small lots to take care
of the immediate needs and must be opened
only when the cement is to be used.
• Cement bags stored for more than 6 months
should not be used. If stored for more than 3
months, it must be tested before use.
• Store cement bags in a dry, airtight room on a
raised wooden platform or on a plastic sheet
away from the walls.
• If the cement is found to contain few hard
lumps, they should be sieved out Never crush
and use them. If the lumps are found in a large
quantity, discard the cement.
• Cement hardens upon coming in contact with
water. To achieve the desired strength, concrete
must be cured or kept continuously wet for 28
days and cement mortar must be cured for 10
days.
• Once water is added in the cement mix, it must
be used within one hour. Any cement-mix left
after that period must be discarded.
• Do not add too much water in mortar or
concrete. The quantity of water or required is
one fourth the volume of the dry mortar mix.
must be sufficient to produce a workable mix
required for the work.

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8 Understanding and Purchase of the Basic Materials of Construction

A. Selection criteria and tips for purchasing construction materials

Cement:

b. Pozzolonic Portland Cement (PPC)

Tips for Selection and Use:

• This cement can be used for all common items just like OPC. It has many advantages over OPC.
• It consists of a mixture of Portland Cement with 15 to 20% fly-ash which improves some of the
qualities of cement.
• It has same strength as OPC.
• All caution and care that are applicable to OPC are applicable to PPC.
• In cooler weather when temperature is less than 28 degrees Celsius, it takes longer to develop
strength. So when weather is cool care should be taken in first 48 hours to not to disturb the work
that has been carried out.
• It has lower heat of hydration. So it requires lesser amount of water than OPC to keep it wet during
curing. Thus it makes it easier to cure.
• In plaster made with this cement the chances of cracking are lesser than in OPC.
• It produces mortar that is stickier. So it adheres better to wall, and requires less effort for mason and
less time.
• It produces concrete that is more workable. So mixing it is easier.
• Since it uses fly-ash which is a polluting material, the use of PPC reduces the fly-ash pollution.

c. Purchase of cement bags

• Order cement as and when required. Do not order cement, which may not be used within 15 days.
• With the supplier, the rate to be decided should be per bag of 50 kg. Generally the delivery and
unloading at the site is decided with a separate agency, depending on the number of bags required.
• Cement bags must be neatly stacked as described above.
• Buy only the well-known brand, and from the authorized dealer.
• Throughout the project it is best to stick to one source and one brand for consistency.
• In case of any complain about the quality of the freshly bought cement BIS authority should be
informed with proper receipt and details.

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Understanding and Purchase of the Basic Materials of Construction 8
A. Selection criteria and tips for purchasing construction materials

7. Steel:

Selection Criteria:
• All reinforcement steel should be free from
loose mill scale, loose or scaly rust, oil and
grease.
• A thin discoloration or light rust which adheres
firmly to the bar is not considered harmful and
may be ignored.
• It is best to buy steel of a well-known brand
from an authorized dealer, since many
companies sell re-rolled steel. The strength of
such steel could vary significantly.

Purchase of steel bars:

• Steel is ordered by weight and not by length. In this case, different diameter bars will have different
weights in the same length.
Diameter in mm 6 8 10 12 16

Weight in Kg per meter length of bar 0.222 0.395 0.620 0.888 1.578
• Generally they come in bundles of several rods of standard length of 38' (11.6m) weighing around
150kgs. So in a bundle of smaller diameter bars, there are more bars and of large diameter there are
fewer bars.
• Owner should know the total length of the bars needed and order that by its weight. Based on
these, the owner will have to check the total number and lengths of each diameter rods received.

8. Water:

Selection Criteria: Storage setup:

• The water required for construction and for
curing must be clean, colorless, potable and
without smell.
• Do not use sea water for mixing or curing of
concrete or mortar.
• Water used for mixing with cement as well as
for curing should be free from alkalis, acids,
oils, organic materials, etc.
• Make sure that curing water does not
produce any stain on the surface.
• The construction site must have enough
water storage facility for 24 hours’ need.
• If a large house is being planned, then a
4000 to 5000 liter water tank must be built
as a permanent storage.
• For a small house, a plastic tank of 1000
liters can be kept on site.
• Large drums filled with water are required
on the site for soaking bricks or concrete
blocks.

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8 Understanding and Purchase of the Basic Materials of Construction

B. Quantities of Materials Required

Before embarking on the purchase of the materials, it would be advisable for the house owner to
have an approximate idea about what quantity of materials are normally used in construction.
Along with that, he/she should have an idea of the total approximate cost likely to be incurred in the
material procurement and the construction of the building.

i. Masonry
Following numbers represent the quantity of various materials used.

In a 9” (230mm) thick brick wall, 1 cu.m. of Rubble, coursed (CR) or 1 cu.m. of Ashlar masonry
43.5 sq.ft. (4.35sq.m.) of wall can Uncoursed (UCR) masonry requires 1.30 cu.m. stones
be built out of 500 bricks. requires 1.20 cu.m. stones. (undressed).
1 cu.m. of Coursed Rubble masonry
requires 1.25 cu.m. stones.

For 100sq.ft (10sq.m.) of RCC slab

Cement = 6.5 bags
Sand = 16 cu.ft.
Aggregates = 32 cu.ft.
Steel = 70 kg.

ii. Disaster Resistant Features

Vertical reinforcement for 10' (3m)

wall height
10mm dia. HSD steel = 1.85kg.
12mm dia. HSD steel = 2.67kg.
16mm dia. HSD steel = 4.75kg.
Cement = 9.75kg.
Sand = 0.34Cu.ft.
10mm size Aggregates = 0.69Cu.ft.

Seismic Band for 3'-3” (1m) length

For wall thickness 9” 14” 18”
8mm HSD steel (kg.) 1.21 1.37 1.50
Including cross links
Cement (kg.) 5.5 8.5 10.9
Sand (cu.ft) 0.287 0.437 0.562
Aggregate (cu.ft) 0.574 0.874 1.12
(10 to 20mm)

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Appointing a Contractor for Construction 9
Appointing a right contractor and establishing a clear understanding of the arrangement with him is a
prerequisite to ensuring good performance of the house in a disaster. It is not just the rates of various items
that make up the relationship between the house owner and the contractor. There are other issues that the
house owner should be aware of in dealing with the contractor. These are as follows:

a. What you, as the house owner, should do?:

Before selecting a contractor, you must verify his bonafides by meeting a house-owner who has used his
services for a similar work or get the list of of satisfied customers from him whose houses you may want to
see to know his quality of work, attitude, personal dealing with clients .
• You should be looking for a career contractor and not a new entrepreneur who thinks contracting is
a lucrative business.
• You have to see the infrastructure, tools and equipment that he possesses. The selection criteria
should be based on those possessing the appropriate equipment such as ladders, pans, spades and
pick-axes, water-levels and spirit levels, straight-edges and right-angles, trowels and plumb-bobs ,
mixers and vibrators, and not by the outward show of a car, a cell phone and little else.
• If it is a labour contract then, you must learn adequately about the materials to be procured.
• You must ensure that the materials are delivered on time and payments are also made on time.
• You must find out about details of the payment to be made in advance, especially payments which
will have to be made at the time of “milestone” activities such as the casting of slab.
• To ensure that the contractor gives good quality work, you must insist on the contractor remove the
bad quality work and rebuild it correctly.
• You must be willing to pay appropriately higher rates for work of better quality.
• You must keep a regular check on curing being done by the contractor.

b. Criteria for selecting the contractor

• He must be a local person in order to get good labour rates.
• He should have his own labour force to do major activities, and should not have to sublet them, or
depend on casual labour.
• He must have good references from previous clients.
• He must be able to deliver good quality work on time.
• He should have positive attitude towards making modifications, as and when they are required.
• He must have positive attitude towards learning new type of work.

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9 xxx

c. Expectations from the contractor:

• He has to place his demands for the required materials at least one week in advance.
• He must keep the site clean to help reduce the wastage of materials and to ensure safety.
• He must have adequate number of water containers for wetting of bricks.
• He must provide extra persons, especially for curing, as a part of his responsibility.
• To reduce the waste of materials, he must use empty cement bags to fill extra materials such as grit,
aggregates, sand, excavated earth etc. that is lying around.

d. The contract and the payment

• It may be best to give a contract for “labour” only, if the house owner has time to procure materials.
This will help the contractor focus on the execution part with better possibility of delivering good
quality work.
• In case of “labour plus material contract” the contractor may try to skimp on the consumption of
expensive materials like cement or steel in order to increase his profit.
• The contractor should quote the rates based on hazard resistant construction requiring adherence
to all the necessary rules and good quality.
• There should be clarity about the mode of payment right from the beginning.
• The contractor must furnish his residence address, PAN number and telephone numbers etc.
• House owner must maintain a register for the payment as well as the materials procured.
• Make all the payments against vouchers or receipts only.
• House owner should make payment only to the main contractor with whom the contract is made,
and to no one else.
• The contract must include the following line, `The safety and safe conduct of the labourers and
their children shall be the full responsibility of the contractor. The owner in no way shall be liable for
injury, death of labourer/s (and his/her/their children) due to negligence, disease, snakebite or any
other cause.
• Contract must include five or six milestones with timetable in the construction (in consultation with
contractor) for good and timely output.
• The house owner should maintain a register in which he will list all the activities, the quality norms
in each case with brand names of the materials or products wherever possible. Drawing of some
nature with all necessary dimensions is a must for the house owner to start the discussion with a
proposed contractor. There should also be a time period specified. The penalty or reward clause can
be added in the contract.

3 Common Man’s Guide to Build a Hazard-Resistant House

During Construction

Common Man’s Guide to Build a Hazard-Resistant House 3

 Mistakes are commonly made that
appear simple but they increase the
vulnerability of the structures against
the forces of nature including
earthquake. These mistakes are
committed due to either ignorance or
laxity. Following good construction
practice, essentially means adhering
to basic rules, ensuring good quality
and not taking short cuts. This can go
a long ways in reducing structure's
vulnerability.

3 Common Man’s Guide to Build a Hazard-Resistant House

Important Rules for Masonry Construction 10
A. General Rules for Masonry Construction

1. Mortars
• Use only one type of mortar in the construction of wall. During construction the masons must use
the same mix. And the laborers who are mixing the materials must not make mistake.
• If constructing in mud mortar, then mud must be of good quality clayey soil. It must be kept wet at
least for three days and thoroughly mixed everyday before using it.
• When constructing masonry in cement mortar, the mason must thoroughly wet all masonry pieces
like bricks or concrete blocks etc. to ensure the desired strength.

2. General Rules

Material can be changed at a particular height, Do not use different materials side by side or
like stone in the plinth, and brick in the walls. next to each other in a structure.

Or with the lower storey in stone, the top storey The joint between the old and the new
can be in timber or tin. construction must be done with bars
embedded in old wall to ensure disaster safety.

Wall-to-wall connections: Toothings left Build all the walls at the same time. Or else,
projecting out at the end of a wall result in to leave the end of a wall in stepped manner to
weak joint with another wall. later connect it with another wall.

If the joint between the internal and the external walls is made using toothings, then the internal wall will
not hold the external wall well. This will cause more damage to walls in a disaster.

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10 Important Rules for Masonry Construction

A. Rules of brick, concrete block and stone masonry construction

3. Random Rubble Masonry rules:

Remebmer:
As mentioned earlier, rubble used properly can certainly give safety to your family. To follow the basic rules
of masonry, a mason will have to change his old habit of placing stones parallel to the wall length in vertical
position, on the outer and inner faces of wall, without the use of adequate number of through stones. This
practice is the main reason why stone buildings collapse during the earthquakes.

At each corner place long stones Provide at least one “through Never use round stones in
in each course with length of stone” or “header” in every 8 masonry. Stone must be broken
stone placed parallel to the length sq.ft. (0.8 sq.m.) of wall. in to three or more pieces to make
of the wall in that direction. them angular.

Place each stone flat on its broad Break all the vertical joints in face It is not necessary to dress all four
face. of wall. faces of stones like it is done for
Ashlar masonry.

Do not leave voids in masonry. Fill Break all the vertical joints within Place the length of the stone
all voids using small chips of the cross section of wall. going in to the thickness of wall to
stone with minimum use of create interlocking between the
mortar. stones of both the faces of wall .

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Important Rules for Masonry Construction 10
A. Rules of brick, concrete block and stone masonry construction

Wet the bricks, concrete blocks and soft stone in Place brick with its groove mark facing up to give
drums just before placing them on cement good bond with the course above.
mortar.

Vertical joints must be 10mm to 15mm wide, Mason must use string in every course to ensure
and must be properly filled with mortar. uniform thickness of mortar.

Mason must use tube level in every third or Mason must use plumb-bob frequently to ensure
fourth course to maintain horizontal level of the that the walls are not leaning.
courses.

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10 Important Rules for Masonry Construction

Avoid building unreinforced brick masonry Masonry column must be built with a 12mm TOR
columns rod from foundation to top encased in 4” of
concrete all around, and well anchored at bottom
and top.

Avoid building 4” thick brick walls, load bearing To ensure strong bond between two courses, place
or non-load bearing, in disaster prone areas. mortar on masonry just before placing the next
course. Hardened mortar placed earlier must be
removed.

Break all the vertical joints. Timber post must be installed on stone seat.

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Important Rules for Masonry Construction 10
B. Special instructions for cement and steel-based construction

1. Cement based construction

Use wooden measuring box, measuring While measuring the content of the box, the top
1'3”x1'3”x1' depth (40 litre volume) for surface of filled material should be level.
measuring sand and aggregates.

Mix all dry ingredients of mortar and concrete Once the water is added to dry mix it must be
thoroughly before adding water. used up in 45 minutes.

Walls built in cement mortar should be kept Items made of RCC such as beams, columns and
wet continuously for 15 days. slab must be kept wet for 28 days.

Note: Once cement begins to harden , it should not Note: The water causes a chemical reaction with
be used. Breaking up hardened concrete or mortar, cement which brings strength. Longer it stays wet
and adding more cement to it makes a material of more strong it becomes. So cement work should
unreliable strength. not go dry during the curing period.
For the construction of houses and small infrastructure buildings, 43-grade cement is preferred to 53-
grade cement since the 43-grade needs less water for curing,, thus making it easier to do proper curing
and achieve the desired strength.

Safety against hazard demands more strength. Cement provides this strength. But too much of cement
does not necessarily ensure proportionally more strength.

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10 Important Rules for Masonry Construction

B. Special instructions for cement and steel-based construction

2. Steel based construction

Safety against hazard demands more strength and ductility. But use of more steel does not
necessarily result in a proportionate increase in the strength.

Connection of one bar to other must never be Bar to bar connection can be hooked only in cross-
hooked. links in the RC band.

All bars must have proper overlapping joint of minimum 20” (500mm).

For the concrete to benefit from the strength of the Never cut bars in the RC Band at the corner. The
reinforcing bars, the bars must be fully encased in main bars must be bent and turned at corners
concrete with minimum of ¾”(20mm) concrete all where the new bar can be attached with the proper
around. overlap.

During construction, make sure that the basic principles of good quality construction are followed, the
materials are used correctly, and quality is maintained to prevent the weaknesses generally found in the
non-engineered masonry construction.

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Special Care to be taken During Construction 11
It is important that you as the house owner maked frequent visits to the site when the work is in progress.
When you are at the site you should keep an eye on the quality of the work going on. If required you can
join in taking some important decisions that may help reduce the cost and ensure good quality. In this
chapter, important points at different stages of construction are covered to guide you about the points
where your intervene may be necessary.

Foundation Bottom:

For strip foundation, dig down to Make sure the trench bottom is Install all vertical reinforcing bars
the required depth. If rocky strata clean with all loose material and right from the foundation
is deeper then there is no need to water removed and is compacted. bottom.
dig up to rock.

Protection against white-ants or Anti-Termite Treatment

In the areas with severe white-ant problem it is better to treat the foundation with the help of a local expert
dealing in Anti-Termite Treatment. This must be done before the foundation masonry begins unless
advised by the contractor otherwise.
Foundation & Plinth Masonry

In foundation trench stones should not be Leave holes in masonry for pipe lines for water
dumped. proper messonry must be done from supply, sanitation etc. during construction so
the foundation bottom. that no breaking is required after it is built.

Make sure that the foundation Make sure all vertical reinforcing The masonry in cement mortar
and plinth for all the walls bars are fully embedded in must be kept wet (cured) for 10
including the inner walls are concrete. days.
constructed at the same time.

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11 Special Care to be taken During Construction

Provide Damp Proof Course at the junction of wall and plinth.

In water soaked ground, to prevent the water from rising in the dry wall through capillary action, an
effective water proof barrier must be installed at the base of the wall masonry. This barrier is all the more
important when the wall has mud mortar.

RC Plinth Band acts also as a Damp Proof Course in A layer of plastic sheet or woven bonded poly-
the wall. propylene sheet also provides a good but cheap
protection against dampness.

The top of the masonry on which the band is going Make sure the mason casts the RC Band with
to be installed should not have a smooth finish. continuous rodding or vibration.

Make sure the bars in the band Make sure the bars are properly Make sure all vertical reinforcing
remain at the center of the overlapped at the corners or bars embedded in masonry are
thickness (height) of the band. wherever the bar ends. connected to plinth band bars
with 'L' shaped dowels.

Cure the band for at least one day before constructing the masonry above it. Continue curing for 10 days.

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Special Care to be taken During Construction 11
Masonry above Plinth Band

Construct all the walls including All vertical bars must be in
the cross walls at the same time. plumb and must be embedded
in concrete after raising the wall
in 18” (450mm) lifts
accompanied by proper rodding.
At the window sill level provide
bars for window encasement, and
encase them in concrete before
installing window frame, if
required by the code.

Make sure mason does not start W h e n a l l w a l l s a r e n o t Make sure bricks or concrete
constructing the corners first and constructed at the same time, blocks are thoroughly wet before
then constructs the walls in than leave the end of the walls in placing them on the mortar.
between the corners. stepped manner.

Make sure that all vertical All door frames must be installed Install window frames before
reinforcement bars are in the before starting the masonry. constructing masonry above sill
centre of the masonry and are level.
embedded in 2”(50mm) of
concrete all around.

Continue curing walls and band for 10 more days.

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11 Special Care to be taken During Construction

RC Lintel/Eave band

If Gable walls are going to be built, then install U-shaped bars for later connecting the Eave Band to the
Gable band.

Connect vertical bars to the bars Cast lintel band the way the In Eave level band insert
of lintel band. plinth band was cast. galvanized wires before casting to
tie the rafters before concreting.
Continue the masonry up to the roof level.

RC Slab Floor/Roof Construction

Roof level band is not necessary in walls supporting RC roof slab.

All vertical bars from the Always provide reinforcement in Over a wall or a beam
masonry wall must be bent and both the directions in a slab. supporting the slab, crank up
connected to the reinforcement every alternate bar that is placed
in the RC slab. near slab bottom.

In case of a slab projecting out
like a chhajja, the reinforcement
in the slab projecting out must
be at the top and not at the
bottom.
Build only the low height
masonry parapets (max. 12”)
with steel railing over the slab
right above the wall supporting
slab .
Large holes created in the wall
for slab shuttering weaken the
wall against earthquake, even if
they are later filled with bricks or
stones.

Make earth-bunds along the periphery of the slab, fill up water and cure for 28 days.

3 Common Man’s Guide to Build a Hazard-Resistant House

Special Care to be taken During Construction 11
Timber Floor Installation

Floor joist must be always so Floor joist must be secured to the Floor Band using a reinforcing bar
placed that its larger dimension is embedded in the band or special brackets projecting out of the band.
vertical.

Each wooden plank flooring placed on floor joists must be secured with at least four nails, two at each
end.

Diagonal Bracings Installation under Timber Floor.

Diagonal Bracings and struts under Timber Floor must be securely connected

Timber diagonal bracings without gusset plate. Timber diagonal bracings with steel gusset plate
for end connection.

Similar measures need to be taken including the anchoring of the floor to the walls and installation of
the diagonal bracings and struts incase of floor with steel understructure.

Common Man’s Guide to Build a Hazard-Resistant House 3

11 Special Care to be taken During Construction

Gable Wall Construction for Two-Sided Sloping Roof

Start construction of gable walls one day after the eave band is cast and cured.
Avoid building gable walls in masonry, since they are heavy, and, hence, unstable in earthquake.

Construct a RC band running along the sloping top Install bolts with a plate for anchoring ridge beam
of the masonry gable wall. The construction is before the concreting is done.
similar to the other bands, except that it is along a
sloping surface.

Connect the reinforcing bars of gable band securely Install double strands of 16g GI wires for tying
to the bars projecting out of eave band. down purlins.
Cure the bands and the masonry for 10 days.

Pitched Roof understructure Installation

Anchor rafters to ridge beam with Anchor rafters to eave level walls Secure purlins to the gable band
nails. with GI wires installed in eave level with GI wires projecting out of the
band. band.

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Special Care to be taken During Construction 11
Pitched Roof Understructure Installation (cont.)

Use minimum of two nails at every connection in Sheet metal straps used for connecting roof
roof. members.

GI wires used for connecting rafters or purlins to RC Anchor the beams to the gable band with bolts.
band.

Install diagonal multiple GI wire bracings and In Wind Speed Zone III and IV roof projecting out
timber struts. must be anchored down securely.

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11 Special Care to be taken During Construction

Manglore Pattern Clay Tiles

All tiles must be anchored to rafters with GI wire Slate tiles to be anchored to roof planks with two
hooks. nails.

All ridge tiles must be installed using cement Install steel rod or GI wires on the bottom-most row
mortar, especially in high wind speed areas. of clay tiles.

Keep gable top load wall no higher than 9”((230 Construct narrow load walls over clay tile roofing at
mm), and reinforce it with a rebar. 4' (1.2m) spacing in high wind speed areas .

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Special Care to be taken During Construction 11
CGI and AC Sheeting

CGI and AC sheets must be installed with 'J' In high wind speed area use 'U' hooks.
hooks, and not with nails.

Secure Doors & Windows

GI wires used for connecting rafters or purlins to Provide proper anchor between the frames of
RC band. doors/window and the wall.

Provide proper locking arrangements for the Use glass panes smaller than 18”x18” (450mm x
shutters of doors and windows. 450mm) in Wind Speed Zones III and IV.

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11 Special Care to be taken During Construction

Be your own site supervisor. Learn from this guide and

make sure that the contractor and the masons are
taking all necessary precautions while building your
house.

Once built properly, it will give you safety and peace of

mind.

3 Common Man’s Guide to Build a Hazard-Resistant House

After the Construction is Complete

Common Man’s Guide to Build a Hazard-Resistant House 3

 It is time to look at the interior of
the house to assess the safety of
your family and also look at how
well they are prepared to face the
natural calamity.

3 Common Man’s Guide to Build a Hazard-Resistant House

How do You Make the Interior of your house Safer? 12
Constructing a hazard-resistant house is not enough to ensure the safety of the residents. It is important to
ensure that the furniture and other household materials in the house do not cause injury to anyone when
they fall off from their place during an earthquake or a cyclone. There are a number of precautions that you
must take.

Furniture:
The tall heavy furniture that can topple over must be anchored to the wall adequately.
Overhead Heavy Objects:
Heavy and large articles in the overhead shelves that can fall off and cause injury must be either
removed and put lower down, or be strapped to their respective bases.
Breakable Items:
Items such as ceramics or glassware that could fall out of the cupboard or shelf must be kept close to
the floor or prevented from falling out by placing some type of barricade made of tight wire stretched
across or even a wooden batten.
Storage Clay Pots:
Do not pile things one over other making an unstable pile, such as placing clay pots filled with grains
one above the other, which may easily fall off their place with little shaking .
Grain Sacks:
Even stable and heavy items like grain sacks should not be stacked higher than three feet.
Grain Bins:
Grain bins that are likely to topple over must be anchored to walls with a metal strap.
Items with rollers:
Heavy items like refrigerators, if placed on rollers, must be anchored to ground to prevent their rolling in
the event of an earthquake since they can hit and hurt some one, or get damaged.
Flammables:
Store containers of flammable material like kerosene in a place from where they cannot fall and break
open.
Cooking gas supply:
Turn off the gas regulator every night.
Cabinets:
Put latches on all the cabinet doors to keep them closed during shaking so that the contents do not fall
out.
Hangers:
Secure all hanging things like fan, vegetable baskets, milk pots, flowerpots, picture frames, other
equipment which may swing and fall, and cause injury.
Equipment:
All equipment and farming tools must be properly stored all the time so that they do not fall and cause
injury, or come in the way and create obstruction in case of emergency evacuation.

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12 Locating Bed / Sleeping Area:
How do You Make the Interior of your house Safer?

Locate your sleeping area (bed) in such a manner that there is no hazard of any falling objects or glass
windows that can shatter and fall on you.
Relocate Furnishings and contents
Heavy furniture should be kept away from the places where people sit or sleep.
Coolers and Air Conditioners
Such items should be secured not only vertically but also for laterall movement to prevent toppling off
the side.
Large - heavy items on roof
Secure water tanks, signage, satellite dishes, architetural claddings and any large panes of glass above
main exits, with deep lip for a short items and with straps, chains and hoots with large items.
Minimizing Danger around the house:
Remove planters placed on the parapets since they could fall on the occupants running out of the
house in the event of an earthquake. Also remove unsafe parapets that can easily break in the event of
an earthquake or cyclone, causing injury or death to the people below.
Safe Exits:
While making design of the house it is important to make sure that the doors are made to open outside.
Strengthen the doorframes and lintels to make the doorways as the safe places in the house where one
can take shelter in the event of an earthquake. This may also help prevent jamming of the door in the
event of an earthquake.
Openings:
Windows and doors must be such that they can be securely shut preventing entry of cyclonic wind in
the house.
Unsafe wiring:
Remove and replace all open electric wiring or old unsafe wiring.

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What Other Preparations do You & Your Family Need to Make? 13
There are certain imperatives for any person living in a disaster-prone area. The list given below includes
important points:
• It is just not enough to have a disaster resistant house to live in and the interior of the house
prepared for a disaster.
• He/she should have an equally strong mental preparation to face an earthquake. For this one has to
consciously make a contingency plan for that eventuality so that the person is prepared to face the
unexpected.
• Making a plan once is not enough. It is important that the person goes over that plan frequently in
his/her mind, and there is a regular checking and updating of the physical preparations which forms
an integral part of this plan.

Such preparation would reduce the chances of panic and help maintain calm so that you would
react sensibly. In such an exercise you must consider that you may be at home, or at place of work, or
at one of the many places that you regularly visit. This can certainly help ensure your safety and the
safety of others around you.

The following list describes preparations that can be made before the next disaster strikes. Some of
them involve simple actions that everyone should take as soon as possible; others are for those who
wish to have greater security. The suggestions are based on experiences elsewhere. One has to sit
with the family members and evolve the location specific preparation norms.

A. Preparing the People

Prepare family members:

Make all family members aware of the actions to be taken during and after an earthquake. Go over
the details with them and practice doing them.
Emergency contact:
Decide how and where your family will reunite if separated during an earthquake. Choose a friend
or a relative who lives in a far off place who can become a reference point and who the family
members can contact after the disaster to report their whereabouts and condition, in case there is
no possibility of making a direct contact with each other.
Preparation at Work:
Make sure that all co-workers at the place of work know what to do during and after the disaster.
Children Away From Home:
Instruct children about what to do if they are at school when the disaster strikes. It is usually best if
they stay at school until the parents can go and get and escort them. They can be instructed to go to
a relative/friend if staying nearby. But there should be absolute clarity about this arrangement

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13 What Other Preparations do You & Your Family Need to Make?

between you, your child, your relative/friend and the teacher.

Handling Combustible Utilities:
Each family member must learn how to turn off the gas and electricity at your home or any other
place where they spend a greater amount of time.
Emergency telephone numbers:
Prepare a list of important telephone numbers of close family members or friends. Make copies and
ask all family members including children to keep the list on them all the time. Update the list from
time to time.

B. Miscellaneous Preparation at Community Level

1. Involve Local Organizations: Suggest the local organizations of which you are a member to
undertake a specific preparedness programme or acquire special training to be of assistance in the
event of a damaging earthquake.
2. Organize a neighbourhood preparedness programme.
3. Important Telephone Numbers: Write the phone numbers for ambulance, fire, police, and relevant
government officials next to your phone, at all STD booths in the community, at Panchayat house, at
school and all other public places where people can easily see them.
4. Assign Responsibility: Assign somebody in the neighborhood who will be in charge of informing
these emergency services. In case if the phone is out of service then decide in advance who should
do what.
5. Vehicles for Emergency: Keep a list of persons who are ready to use there bicycles, two wheeled and
four wheeled vehicles in case of emergency.
6. Flooding & Landslide: Determine whether you live or work in an area that could be subjected to
flooding (from a dam failure), or landslide caused by an earthquake. If you do, then plan evacuation
procedures with members of your households, neighbors, and co-workers. Decide in advance
where your family will meet if the neighborhood is evacuated.
7. Clear Access: Make it a practice to keep clear the corridors, doorways and exits at place of work and
schools. Avoid blockage with racks, shelving, cupboards, supplies, bicycles, four wheeled vehicles
such as cars, tractors, trailers, etc. When an emergency occurs, it is essential that all passages are
clear both for evacuation of occupants and for the entry of rescue workers.
8. Participation: Participate in the community programmes….
• to prepare for earthquake and other disasters,
• to enforce zoning regulations that control the kinds of construction permitted near known
active earthquake faults
• to remodel and rehabilitate old and unsafe buildings
• to build public awareness activities.
7. First Aid Training: Arrange for a First Aid training programme. Prepare a First Aid supply box with all
necessary medicines and with instructions for its use.
8. Search & Rescue: Arrange for search and rescue training.
9. Damage Assessment: Conduct a training programme in damage assessment to assess the safety in
the post-earthquake stage and also to decide the course of action.
10. Neighbourhood Mutual Help: Develop self-help networks among families of the neighbourhood

3 Common Man’s Guide to Build a Hazard-Resistant House

What Other Preparations do You & Your Family Need to Make? 13
through a skill and resource bank, which includes a listing of tools, equipment, materials, food and
individuals with special skills.
11. Individual With Special Needs: Identify neighbours who have special needs or will require special
assistance.
All OK Sign: Have neighbours agree to hang a white flag out after the quake if everyone and
everything is OK.

C. Things to store

Food and Water:

Store water and enough quantity of dry food (which can be easily cooked) at home so that you can
survive for three to four days on your own before any help can reach. Five liters of water per person
per day is suggested for drinking and cooking purposes. Prepare an emergency food packet. Decide
what can be included in it. What type of food and the quantity per person? Decide on type of
storage required for water, its location where it is likely to be safe etc.
Some suggestion for food items:
Basic food items like flour, pulses, and rice grains can be stored along with some basic spices like
pepper, salt, sugar, curry powder and, if required, some pickle bottles. Milk powder is also an item
that can be included. But it must be replaced every two months. Tea leaves also can be stored. In
case of a small cluster, a rich family can store more of these items than required for themselves, so
that in case of emergency, they can help the needy.
Special Need Food Items:
Have at least a week's supply of food for the infants and those with special needs.
Utensils:
Even a few critical utensils stored kept in a safe place can be of a great value in case of need. It is
noticed that during an earthquake the utensils get damaged or destroyed under the falling debris,
and in a flood they get washed away.
Water storage:
Water could be safely stored in Plastic (PET) bottles that are most easily available today. But they
should be kept in a dark place to prevent the growth of algae. Some kerosene must also be stored
for emergency cooking and lighting. All these items should be stored in such a place so that these
are easily accessible even if the house is damaged or destroyed.
Alternatively, store water in two large containers (80 to 100 liter capacity each) as a permanent
arrangement, and use the stored water from each one of them on alternate days. Both the
containers must be kept in different locations that are safe and convenient. This way if a disaster
strikes, one of the containers is likely to remain intact and, hence, available.
Water at Place of Work:
Keep a water bottle at your place of work, if there is a chance that you will have to walk or cycle a

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13 What Other Preparations do You & Your Family Need to Make?

long distance to reach home after the disaster has struck.

Water Purification:
Keep Water Purification tablets or Potassium Permanganate crystals or Chlorine bleach (eight drops
per four liters) to purify water if necessary.
Emergency Light:
Always have a torch and spare batteries readily available. It can be rechargeable type also. Keep it
beside your bed and in a couple of other locations, if possible.
Arrange for a supply of torches which almost everyone can afford.
Arrange for a kerosene lantern with half liter of kerosene in a plastic container and a matchbox. Do
not use matches or candles after an earthquake or a cyclone until you are sure there are no gas leaks.
Candles:
Keep some candles with matches handy. Remember properly the location so that even in the night
without the electric lights these can be located.
First-Aid:
After a major disaster, hospitals are likely to be overcrowded and medical staff occupied with more
serious cases. Hence, keep basic First-Aid supplies handy, especially the bandages and the
disinfectants. Also impart the basics of the First-Aid procedures to those around you.
Personal Medicines:
Keep at least a week’s supply of special medicines that you or others around you need on a regular
basis.
Emergency Communication:
Few houses in the community must have battery-operated transistor radios. These are required so
that in the event of power failure you can still get the latest news, emergency announcements and
warnings. Often even the telephone communication gets disrupted in a disaster.
Location of Emergency Kit:
The emergency kit consisting of food, water and other supplies including a torch, batteries (torch
cells), First-Aid kit, plastic sheet, some money and some clothing must be kept in a safe but easily
accessible place in the house where it is less likely to get damaged. At the same time it must be easily
retrievable in case of emergency evacuation. These must also be packed in water tight plastic bags,
to ensure them remaining dry in all circumstances.
Temporary Shelter:
Keep a large plastic sheet to give cover to the whole family in case of evacuation from the house.
Temporary Damage Control:
To protect from further damage your already damaged house, keep a few plastic sheets to cover the
broken windows and other openings to minimize further damage, especially from rain.

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What should You do During and After a Disaster? 14
During a Disaster:
Now that you have made the advance preparation to face a disaster, you need to understand what exactly
you should do just when a disaster strikes.

a. Cyclone:
Since there is advance warning about the cyclone, you must get to a safe place such as the basement or
the cyclone shelter, and stay put during the time when the cyclone is passing through the area. It is best
not to be caught out in open, or in the vicinity of things that may get blown off.

b. Earthquake:
There is no advance warning. Hence do the following:
Tell yourself to remain calm, and do not scream or run helter-skelter, since that could upset others or
make them panic too.
Do not try to be brave. Act immediately to protect yourself when the tremors start, without worrying
about what the others will think of you. If you can save your life, then you may be able to save life of
those near you.

When tremors begin:

• Duck under a bed if you have a bed or a table that is strong, OR
• Run out in the open yard if the door is not locked and is close by, and if the yard is safe, OR
• Stand in a doorway if it is strong, OR
• Stand in a corner of the room, and cover your head with hands to protect it.

In the immediate aftermath of an Earthquake:

• When the tremors stop wait for some time before cautiously walking out to see what happened, since
at that point in time, the unstable parts of the building can collapse on you.
• If occupying a seismically unsafe building, your greater security lies in leaving the building immediately
rather than staying in it. In this case leave with your family members quickly but cautiously, keeping an
alert watch on the falling bricks, fallen or exposed electrical wires and other hazards.
• If you are in an alley near a tall wall then step under an open door way for safety from falling debris.
If you are outdoors try to get to an open area away from buildings, tall walls, tall trees and power lines.
• If you are in a moving vehicle then calmly stop the vehicle away from the tall buildings, bridges, and
power lines if possible. If in a car or a bus, then remain inside the vehicle till the tremors are over. If on a
two-wheeler, then park it next to the road keeping a substantial distance from tall walls and buildings,
and stay there until the shaking is over. Make absolutely sure that your parked vehicle does not block the
access road.
• If in a crowded public place indoors, do not rush to the exist or doors. Crouch and cover your head and
neck with your hands and arms wherever you are.

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14 What should You do During a Disaster and, After a Disaster?

• Do not be surprised if during an earthquake you feel more than one shocks. After the first shock the
next shock may be after a few minutes, hours, days or even months. The building weakened in the first
shock can collapse in the subsequent (even weaker) shocks. Hence, exercise caution, and decide based
on technical evaluation if it is safe to continue occupying the house which has suffered in the first
tremors.

Short time After the Earthquake and Cyclone:

• Remain calm and assess the situation in regards to your house, your family, your neighbours, and your
friends and relatives.
• Check for broken or exposed electrical wiring and sewer lines. Check for gas and water leaks. If there is
damage, turn off the utilities at the source. Check for the downed power lines; warn others to stay
away.
• Check for fires and fire hazards. Try putting out fires immediately.
• Check your building for cracks and damage, including the roof, parapets, high compound walls and
foundation.
• Help those who are injured . Administer First-Aid if you know it or seek assistance.
• Help extract those buried under the debris while exercising extreme caution with the damaged
structure.
• Do not light open fire, or light stove until you are absolutely sure that there is nothing that will catch
fire.
• Do not make long telephone calls since many individuals may be trying to call for help or to inform their
relatives and friends.
• Do not go sight-seeing in the affected area, since this may cause obstructions to those working, and
may also cause traffic jams, thus obstructing the rescue and relief vehicles from reaching the affected
spots.
• Do not use your vehicle unless there is an emergency. Keep the street clear for emergency vehicles.
• Listen to radio for news bulletin on the disaster, and instructions. For your safety cooperate fully with
public safety officials and follow instructions.
• Be prepared for further aftershocks. Such shocks can do further damage to the weakened structure.
Open cupboard doors carefully since things from inside may fall on you.
• Cooperate with police, paramedics and others engaged in rescue and debris clearing work.
• If you evacuate, leave a message at your home telling family members and others where you can be
found.

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Affordable alternatives which are environment-friendly 15
Today, degrading of housing conditions is a major hurdle faced by many countries especially in the urban
areas. The costs of construction materials and the transportation of the same also have steadily risen. For
many, to have their own house has remained just a dream. For those who think of building one also think of
where they can save the cost, and still get a safer, house with low maintenance. One of the reasons for this
to happen is that most every one is going for options that are inappropriate for the context on hand, and
hence, such options are expensive. If affordable options become known to people, then more people
could turn their dream in to reality. Such options could be called the Appropriate Options or Appropriate
Technologies.

What makes a Technology Appropriate?

In order to decide if a particular technological option is appropriate for the given situation, it is necessary to
set criteria which depends upon the context, such as Rural, Urban, Rich, Poor, Tropical, Arid, Semi-arid,
Remote, Easily Accessible, Water Scarce, Water Abundant, Forest cover, Soil conditions, Shallow Bedrock
etc. One fundamental factor is the scarcity of all resources except the human resource. This factor implies
that for a system to be efficient and affordable, it must make efficient utilization of available materials and
must make maximum possible use of manpower. The other factor is the high transportation cost. This can
be reduced only if the use of local materials is maximized.

What makes a Technology Environment friendly?

The industrial process creates pollution. Transportation of materials from one place to another by
motorized means creates pollution. This pollution in one way or the other is linked to the Global Warming.
Consumption of timber means cutting down of trees. Trees help reduce global warming. Human labor
causes no pollution. Hence, greater use of industrial materials in house construction means more pollution
and more global warming. More use of non-local materials means more transporting of materials over
long distances, and hence, more pollution and hence, more global warming. Cutting more trees also
would mean lesser reduction in global warming. In short, to reduce global warming, use maximum
possible non-industrial materials, use minimum of non-local materials, use timber efficiently and finally,
use options that use maximum possible human labor.
In other words the building technologies that are affordable are also greener.

Cost reduction
There are a wide variety of technologies to suit different situations. These technologies can help reduce the
cost through a number of different ways. These are as follows.
• Reduction in the use of the expensive industrial materials like cement and steel etc.
• Reduction in the transportation cost through increased use of local materials.
• More efficient use of scarce and expensive material like timber.
• Increasing the life of low grade social forestry timber.
• Use of labor intensive techniques and thereby reduce the material cost component.
In other words the appropriate technologies are more efficient and, hence, cost effective than their
conventional counterparts.

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15 Affordable alternatives which are environment-friendly

A few examples of appropriate options and their advantages are as follows:

Roofing: Non Pitched Type

Pre-cast brick panel supported on partially pre-cast Burnt brick Jack Arch supported on RC joists.

Filler slab using low cost terracotta filler like shallow Flat stone or Per-cast doubly curved concrete panels
bowls or Manglore pattern roofing tiles to replace supported on pre-cast RC joists.
expensive concrete.

Burnt brick vault or dome. Burnt clay tubes (BCT) vault.

The roof or floor supported on joists is simpler to build and, hence, easy to replicate and economical.
These options need very little shuttering. Since all of the casting of panels is done at ground level, quality
control is easier and so is curing. All these options use less of cement and steel. All of them have a higher
labour cost component as against a RC slab. As a result they provide more employment.

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Affordable alternatives which are environment-friendly 15
Roofing: Pitched Type

Thatch treated with Copper Sulfate solution or R o u n d t i m b e r S o c i a l Fo r e s t r y T i m b e r

Cashew nut oil for higher resistance to insect understructure with Precast-RC central columns.
attack.

Simple trusses made of small diameter timber and On-site treatment and seasoning of Social-forestry
3mm GI wires ties to replace large diameter beams or Tertiary timber for longer life

Micro-concrete roofing tiles can be used instead of Composite wood column made of multiple small
clay tiles. diameter poles tied together with cement bandage
to replace a large diameter column.
In case of pitched roof, the improved understructure at a lower cost helps improve the quality and, hence,
the performance and the longevity of this roof.

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15 Affordable alternatives which are environment-friendly

Walling:

Random rubble masonry in mud mortar Fly-ash cement blocks for masonry in cement
mortar

Rat-Trap bond 9" cavity wall. Compressed stabilized soil blocks in Soil-Cement
mortar or Compressed Soil Blocks in ordinary mud
mortar.

Adobe or Hand-molded Sun-dried Mud Blocks in Hand moulded cast in situ mud wall or Cob wall
mud mortar
Note:
In a majority of cases cement mortar is not necessary in the masonry walls, load bearing or non-load
bearing.

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Affordable alternatives which are environment-friendly

Wall Finish (Depending on walling materials)

Cement pointing on exterior Bitumen Stabilized Non- Burnt clay or Cement

face for all masonry walling, Erodable Mud (NEM) plaster cladding tile for adobe walls
especially with mud mortar. or ordinary mud plaster on
exterior and interior for soil
block, adobe or cob walls

Doors and Windows

Masonry Arched opening Corbelled chhajja support Pre-cast Reinforced Brick

instead of RC lintel. instead of RC chhajja. (PRB) lintel instead of RC
lintel.

Frame-less Pivoted shutter ‘Ledge and Baton’ type Narrow openings with
instead of shutter with shutter made with secondary pivoted shutter to eliminate
wooden or steel or RC frame. timber safety grill.

Elimination of shutters in the interior openings where appropriate, save cost and timber.

Common Man’s Guide to Build a Hazard-Resistant House 3

 Affordable alternatives which are environment-friendly

Rain water harvesting

A water proof tank is built and the rainwater from the roof or terrace is stored over a long duration for
drinking purposes. The storage tank can be of 10,000 to 20,000 liters capacity, depending on the
catchment area and the number of people in the family. This eliminates the need for residential water
treatment units like Ultra-Violet (UV) based system or Reverse-Osmosis (RO) type system and still provides
pure potable water without impurities. Water from this source has acceptable levels of the total dissolved
solids (TDS). The water is passed through a sand-gravel filter before reaching a leak-proof and air-tight
storage tank.

Appropriate technologies are Cost Effective and

Environment friendly.

They give the maximum return for the money spent

while satisfying all the needs.

3 Common Man’s Guide to Build a Hazard-Resistant House

Appendices 1
Appendix - A
Simple Tests

a Crow Bar Test for Checking Hardness of Ground

• Remove the vegetation on the ground and dig down to

a depth of 12” (300mm).
• Remove loose soil from the excavation bottom.
• Take a standard crowbar 1.54m long and weighing 4.5
kg.
• Drop it on the dry ground in the trench from 2'
(600mm) height above the trench bottom.
• If the crowbar penetrates the soil less than 2” (50mm)
the ground is hard, and if it penetrates more than 3”
(75mm), then the ground is soft.

b Jar Test for Checking Silt/Clay Content in Sand

• Place 500gms of sand in a jar with a lid.

• Add half a liter of water to immerse the sand fully and
close it with a lid
• Add a spoon of salt to the water, stir the water along
with the sand well.
• Allow the content to settle down for 2 hours.
• Inspect the soil that has settled down at the bottom of
the container.
• The bottom most layer consisting of sand should be
the thickest.
• The silt/clay layer will be visible on top above the sand
layers.
• Measure the thickness of the silt/clay layer and the
sand layers.
• Divide the thickness of silt/clay layer by the total
thickness of sand plus silt/clay layers, and multiply it
with 100 to get the % of silt in the sand.

Common Man’s Guide to Build a Hazard-Resistant House 3

2 Appendices

Appendix - B

References:

1. Indian Society of Earthquake Technology, Roorkee, 1989, A Manual of Earthquake Resistant

Non-Engineered Construction
2. Improving Earthquake Resistance of Low Strength Masonry Buildings-Guidelines, IS:13828:1993
3. Improving Earthquake Resistance of Earthen Buildings-Guidelines, IS:13827:1993
4. Earthquake Resistant Design and Construction of Buildings Code of Practice
(Second Revision), IS:4326-1993
5. Ductile Detailing of Reinforced Concrete Structures subjected to Seismic Forces IS:13920-1993
6. Plain and reinforce concrete IS 456:200
7. BMTPC, 1997 Vulnerability Atlas of India
8. BMTPC, 1999-2000 Guidelines Improving Wind/Cyclone Resistance of Housing
9. BMTPC, 1999, Guidelines Improving Earthquake Resistance of Housing,
10. Dr. Anand S. Arya Earthquake Disaster Reduction: Masonry Buildings, Design and Construction
11. DESAI, RAJENDRA, Field Shake Table Program - A Sure Way of Confidence Building in Quake
Resistant Building Technology, ASAG, August 1999 (unpublished, available from the author)
12. UNESCO, 2007 Manual for Restoration and Retrofitting of rural Structures in Kashmir. (authored by
Desai Rajendra & Desai Rupal)
13. UNDP, 2008 Manual on Hazard Resistant Construction in India. (authored by Desai Rajendra & Desai
Rupal)
14. Desai Rajendra & Desai Rupal, An exprience in Appropriate Technology 1998.

3 Common Man’s Guide to Build a Hazard-Resistant House

ABOUT NCPDP

National Centre for Peoples'-Action in Disaster Preparedness (NCPDP)

NCPDP was created with a focus on disaster preparedness in October, 2000 at the time of Bhavnagar
Earthquake in Gujarat state. This was an outcome of seven years of post earthquake intervention by its two
honorary directors in regions of Latur, Jabalpur and Chomoli in India. Later, it played a major role in
rehabilitation as well as capacity building for long-term preparedness in Gujarat in the aftermath of
Kutchch Earthquake, and also worked on capacity building and technology demonstration in the quake
affected Kashmir.

NCPDP is one of a few technology-based organizations in the country with first-hand experience of
working at the grass-roots. It has a firm belief that building capacity of people from within is the only way
to mitigate disasters for a safer world. Hence, we believe that intervention by external agencies in the
aftermath of a disaster is most needed to work in this direction. Skill up-gradation of building artisans
should form the backbone of this approach.

NCPDP strives to bring viable, eco-friendly and sustainable technologies to help people reduce their
vulnerability against future disasters. It strives to remain prepared for timely intervention in the aftermath
of major disasters. It is continuing to work on disaster mitigation through (a) training of engineers and
building artisans, (b) awareness & confidence building programs in communities, (c) preparing ready to
use technical information for people, (d) research on structural behavior of masonry structures, and (e)
building vulnerability studies in different parts of India. (f).vulnerability reduction through retrofitting (g).
policy interventions

Common Man’s Guide to Build a Hazard-Resistant House 3