SPECIFICATION FOR CEMENT PLASTER

Sustainability of cement lime mixes

◦ Plastering mix - lime putty dry hydrated lime,cement and sand
◦ High work ability
◦ Ease of application
◦ Less pronounced as the proportion of cement increases
◦ Longer working time
◦ Slow rate of strength development increasing with the amount of cement added
and adequate early strength to withstand modern building conditions
◦ Need moisture to complete the setting process so rapid drying in the early
stages should be avoided
◦ The weaker mixes shall not be used with a strong finishing coat.
◦ Weaker mixes offer certain advantages over the stronger mixes when applied to
non-rigid backgrounds, such as lathing

Proportioning
◦ Material may be measured by volume using gauge boxes
◦ Cement measured by weight, one cubic meter of cement weigh 1440kg
approximately.
◦ Lime measured by volume of lime putty/dry hydrated lime before preparing putty
◦ The mix proportion of lime refers to the volume of putty
◦ 1 : 3 = mixture : water
◦ Water required is about 70% by weight of cement but may vary depending on
the following factors -
a. The nature and condition of the fine aggregate
b. The temperature and humidity at the time of working
c. Richness of the mix, namely, whether rich or leaner than 1 : 3
d. The varying quantities of lime in composite mortars and
e. The use of admixtures added for improving the workability

Tools and accessories

◦ Tools cleaned by scraping and washing at the end of each day’s work or after
use with different materials
◦ Metal tools cleaned and greased after each use
◦ Tools examined and thoroughly cleaned before plastering
◦ Cleanliness is very important as contamination with set material may seriously
affect the performance and reduce the effective life of the tools

Finishes and thickness

◦ These cannot be used for trowel(very smooth finishes),as their shrinkage on
drying creates a tendency for surface crazing.
◦ Finishing coats shall be of minimum thickness as just to provide a sufficient
body of material to harden satisfactorily
◦ The total thickness of two-coat work exclusive of keys or dubbing out shall not
exceed 20mm and it shall not exceed 15mm in the case of in situ concrete
soffits.
◦ The thickness of three-coat shall not normally exceed 25mm

Number of Plaster Coats

◦ Two coats - undercoat followed by a finishing coat.
◦ Single coat on plane backgrounds of brick,concrete and similar materials were
successful in the past
◦ For very rough surfaces like rough stone masonry, three coats
◦ Three coats for metal lathing and renovation work on wood laths
The range of coats different backgrounds is as follows:

Background Number of coats

Brickwork or hollow clay tiles 2 or 1
Concrete,cast in situ 2 or 1
Building blocks 2 or 1
Wood or metal lath 3 or 2
Fiber building board (insulating board) 2 or 1
Wood wool slabs 2 or 1
Cork slabs 2 or 1
Uneven and rough stone masonry 3 or 2

Preparation of background before application

◦ For durability obtain bond between background and first plaster coat also ensure
that the bond is maintained.
◦ Cleaning - The loose layer of dust removed by watering or brushing. Freshly
cast concrete has laitance and should be removed. It may also be contaminated
by soap which is formed with calcium hydroxide and oils in the molds,it is
removed by brush.Special care in repairing for rendering an bold plaster coat.
Old layers should be completely removed. Crumbled and frost-damaged par-U
shall be cut out and patched.Algae or mass formation should be removed.If
background contains soluble salts,application shall be done after efflorescence
of salts is thoroughly removed.
◦ Roughness - Roughness of background improves bond of the plaster. Smooth
surface is roughened by wire brushing,when it’s not hard and by hacking/bush-
hammering when it’s hard.Alternatively,a mortar 1 cement : 1 to 3 coarse sand
prepared in wet consistency is dashed on surface.After roughening,moisten the
surface sufficiently,as otherwise surface may absorb water from the plaster.
The joints shall be raked to a depth of 1cm for providing key to plaster. On soft
smooth surface after hacking a thin coat of slurry (1:1 = cement : fine sand) is
applied.Wire netting, etc maybe used for special cases.
◦ Suitable Suction - The amount of water put in the background during
construction has an important bearing.Adequate drying intervals between
erection and plastering can make the surface suitable for suction adjustment.
◦ Evenness - Even background to avoid variations in thickness of plaster.Any
unevenness must be leveled.For 3 coats,local projection shall not exceed 1.2 cm
and local depression shall not exceed 2.0 cm.For 2 coats,local projection shall
not exceed 0.6 cm and local depression 1.2 cm.
◦ Strength and Elasticity - The strength and elasticity of plaster shall be
compatible with that of background.
◦ Immobility - Background must be immobile or move with and in same direction
of the plaster.Differential movements will cause cracking of plaster.Movement
arises due to moisture change,temperature change,structural
settlement,etc.These can be corrected before application.
◦ Precaution Against Discontinuity in Background - Cracking of walls or
plaster is caused by discontinuity.Differential drying shrinkage is main cause but
difference in thermal movements may also contribute.Reinforcement by metal
lathing or scrim is not always successful.The best way is to separate portions by
neat cut and then masked by fixing a cover strip to one side.Change from wall to
ceiling is regarded as discontinuity.A cornice would allow slight movement
without cracking or a straight cut at the junction may provide for the crack.The
plaster bridging the joints is subject to higher stresses, so the plaster is
reinforced at joints by fixing jute scrim(namely,netting,gaug,scrimming) or a
◦ suitable wire.This may be ineffective if there’s large changes in humidity and thin
backgrounds with high moisture movement are used.
◦ Surface Preparation for Brickwork or Hollow Block - Masonry dried so that
initial drying shrinkage is fairly complete and suction adjustment is possible.
Joints of new brickwork /block masonry,shall be raked out.Projecting bricks shall
be trimmed off. Thoroughly brushed surface to remove dust, loose particles or
efflorescence.
◦ Surface Preparation for in situ Concrete - The surface shall be cleaned and
roughened.The surface shall be evenly wetted to provide correct suction.
◦ If chemical retarder is applied,a roughened surface is created by wire-brushing
and resulting loose particles are cleaned off.
◦ If mechanical key-forming devices are used,these shall be stripped off and the
resulting surface is cleaned.
◦ Ridges or fins formed by shuttering imperfections shall be removed to be
compatible with the plaster, particularly when it’s not thicker than 1cm.
◦ When boards or slabs are fixed ‘scrimming’ is all the preparation that is needed.

Application
A)Preparation of Surface:
◦ All joints raked out to a depth of 10 mm
◦ R.C.C be properly hacked to get good key to the plaster
◦ All dust and oily matter shall be cleaned
◦ Surface to be plastered is kept wet for 6 hours before plastering

B)Proportion of Mortar :
◦ Walls, lintels, columns, ceiling, ceiling beams, projected slabs,rails, chajja,
marquise, domes shall be done with sand cement mortar
◦ No more mortar shall be prepared than that can be used within half an hour

C)Application of Plaster :
◦ Applied evenly with force on the surface
◦ Finished by being rubbed over with a trowel the cement appears on the surface
◦ All corners, angles and junctions shall be carefully and neatly finished.
◦ Rounding of corners and junctions where required shall be done without extra
charge.
◦ The mortar shall adhere to the surface intimately when set and there should be
no hollow sound when struck.

D) When neat cement finish is specified over the plaster surface, a coat of pure
Portland cement slurry, 1.5 mm thick shall be applied and well rubbed to the
plaster surface while the plaster surface is still fresh.

E) When no finish is specified, the plastered surface shall be rubbed well to an even
plane with a wooden float for external surface and finished smooth with a steel
trowel for internal surface.

F)Rates to include

G)Mode of Measurement :
Plaster shall be measured in square meter.

Walls: The measurement of wall plastering shall be taken between the walls or
partitions (the dimensions before plastering shall be taken) for the length and
from the top of floor or skirting depending upon the situation to the ceiling for
the height.
Ceiling:
i) Ceiling shall be measured between the walls or partitions and the
dimensions before plastering shall be taken.
ii) Ceiling with projected beams shall be measured over beam and the
plastered sides of beams shall be measured and added to plastering
on ceilings.

The contract rates for the item of plaster shall include for the following
i) Erecting, dismantling and removing the scaffolding.
ii) Preparing the surface to receive the plaster.
iii) Providing cement plaster of the specified average thickness.
iv) All labour, materials, use of tools and equipment to complete the
plastering as per specification.
v) Curing for 7 days
vi) Any moulding work if shown on the drawings or as specified unless
separately provided in the tender.
vii) Labour for plastering the surface in two operations when thickness of
plaster is more than l2 mm thick.
viii) Plaster work in bends, arises, rounded angles, fair edges, narrow returns,
quriks 'V' joints, splays, drip mouldings, making good to metal frame
junctions with skirting of dados narrow width and small quantities, making
good round pipes, conduits, timbers, sills, brackets, railings, etc and
making good after all the sub-contractors or nominated sub-contractors
have done their work.
ix) Neat cement finish when specified in the item.

Deductions
For jambs soffits, sills, etc. for openings not exceeding 0.5 sq.m
each in area, ends of joists, beams, posts, girders, steps etc. not exceeding 0.5
sq.m each in area, and opening not exceeding 3 sqm each, deductions and
additions shall be made in the following manners :-

a) No deductions shall be made for ends of joists, beams, posts, etc. and
openings not exceeding 0.5 sq.m and no additions shall be made for
reveals, jambs, soffits sills etc. of these openings nor for finishing the plaster
around ends of joists, beams, posts, etc.

b) Deductions for openings exceeding 0.5 sq.m but not exceeding three sqm
each shall be made as follows and no addition shall be made for reveals,
jambs, soffits, sills etc. of these openings :-
i. When both faces of wall are plastered with the same type of
plaster,deduction shall be made for one face only.
ii. When width of door frame is equal to thickness of wall or is projecting
beyond thickness of wall, full deduction for opening shall be made from
each plastered/pointed face of the wall.
iii. When two faces of wall are plastered with different type of plasters or if
one face is plastered and other pointed, deductions shall be made in the
plaster or pointing on the side on which the width of reveals is less than
that on the other side but no deduction shall be made from plaster or
pointing on the other side. Where widths of reveals on both faces of wall
are equal, deduction of 50 per cent of area of opening on each face shall
be made from areas of plastering and/or pointing as the case may be.
iv. In case of openings of area above 3 sq.m each deductions shall be
made for the openings but jambs, soffits and sills shall be measured.
Weathering course of roofs
◦ A course laid on top surface of RCC roof to protect it against weather elements
like rain, heat etc is known as weathering course
◦ It also make the roof leak proof
◦ Will guarantee maximum thermal insulation
◦ Avoids thermal shocks
◦ Make a huge impact on electricity bills
◦ Reduces the dead load on your roof from about 250 kg/m to just 1.6 kg/m
◦ Avoid expansion and contraction of the roof slab

Traditional Way
◦ Compacting mixture of brickbats along with lime powder and other organic
products over the roof.
◦ Not effective as waterproofing nor does it act as thermal insulation.
◦ Makes the house hotter.

Characteristics
◦ Good thermal insulator with a thermal conductivity less than 0.03 W/mk.
◦ Good compressive strength (min. 250 KPa).

Best Material
◦ Best material - extruded polystyrene
◦ Thick - 50 mm
◦ Density - 32-35 kg/m3
◦ Thermal conductivity - 0.028 W/ mk
◦ Compressive strength - 300 KPa

Process involved
◦ Applying waterproofing treatment over the roof slab
◦ Placing XPS Boards
◦ Separation layer
◦ Exterior tiles.
◦ Done only on areas of roofing that are directly exposed to sunlight

Detailed Specification
◦ A weathering course to protect the slab from shrinkage and expansion
◦ 100 mm thick brick concrete (0.96 cu.m broken brick of 20mm gauge and 0.375
cu.m of slaked lime for every 1 cu.m of weathering course) laid over the slab and
well beaten to 75 mm thickness with wooden hand beaters.