As a house owner, the best way to check your construction site is to inspect each stage before the next stage covers it up. Check the layout before digging, the steel before concreting, the cover blocks before shuttering closes, and the curing every day after casting. This house construction checklist for owners follows the normal order of work on an RCC house in Nepal and lists what to look for and the mistakes that are seen most often.
This checklist does not replace your supervising engineer. Municipalities expect a registered engineer or designer to supervise, and the structural drawing always takes priority over general rules. What it does is help you ask the right questions and spot problems while they are still cheap to fix. Once concrete is poured, hidden mistakes stay in the house for good.
House construction checklist at a glance
| Stage | What to check | Common mistake on Nepali sites |
|---|---|---|
| Layout | Setbacks, grid dimensions, diagonals, column centres | Column grid shifted to gain space, ignoring approved naksa |
| Excavation | Depth, size, firm bottom, water removed | Footing placed on filled soil or soft pockets |
| PCC | Thickness, level, mix | Very lean mix or PCC skipped |
| Footing | Bar size, spacing, cover, footing depth | Mesh laid directly on PCC with no cover |
| Column steel | Number and size of bars, stirrup spacing, 135° hooks, laps | 90° stirrup hooks, wide spacing near joints |
| Cover blocks | Proper concrete cover blocks of correct thickness | Stone pieces or no cover blocks |
| Shuttering | Plumb, sizes, joints sealed, props firm | Leaky joints, bulging columns, weak props |
| Concreting | Mix ratio, water control, vibration, slump | Extra water added, no vibrator |
| Curing | Number of days, method, wet coverings | Curing stopped after 2 to 3 days |
| Brickwork | Soaked bricks, mortar ratio, joints, height per day | Dry bricks, thick joints, tall lifts in one day |
| Slab | Thickness, top bars at supports, chairs, conduits | Top bars trampled flat, no chairs |
1. Layout
Compare the pegs and lime lines with the approved drawing. Check the setback from the road and boundaries, because the municipality will check these at plinth level. Then check that the outline is square using the diagonals.
Worked example: For a rectangular building outline of 9 m x 12 m, each diagonal should be √(9² + 12²) = √225 = 15 m. If the two diagonals differ by more than about 10 mm, the layout is out of square and should be corrected before digging. For smaller corners, the 3-4-5 rule works the same way: mark 3 m on one side and 4 m on the other; the distance between the marks should be 5 m.
2. Excavation
- Check the depth and size of each pit against the drawing.
- The bottom should be firm, natural soil. If you find filled soil, garbage or soft black clay, stop and call the engineer.
- Remove standing water before PCC.
The excavation calculator helps you check the volume being billed.
3. PCC (plain cement concrete)
PCC gives a clean, level base for the footing. Check its thickness (commonly 50 to 100 mm, as per drawing) and that it is reasonably level. A very lean, sandy PCC that crumbles is a sign of poor mix.
4. Footing
- Count the bars in both directions and measure spacing with a tape.
- Check the bar diameter. A 12 mm bar should not be swapped for 10 mm.
- Check the cover under the mesh, commonly 50 mm for footings. The mesh must sit on cover blocks, not on the PCC.
- Check that column starter bars are placed at the right location and are tied so they do not move during concreting.
5. Column steel and cover blocks
This is the most important structural check for earthquake safety.
- Number and size of vertical bars as per drawing.
- Stirrups (ties) with 135° hooks, not 90° hooks.
- Closer stirrup spacing near the top and bottom of each column and through beam-column joints, as shown on the drawing.
- Laps of vertical bars placed where the drawing shows, usually in the middle part of the column height, not all at the floor level.
- Proper concrete cover blocks tied to bars on all faces. Typical covers used on drawings for houses are below. Always follow your drawing.
| Member | Typical nominal cover |
|---|---|
| Footing | 50 mm |
| Column | 40 mm |
| Beam | 25 mm |
| Slab | 20 mm |
6. Shuttering
Check that column shuttering is plumb using a plumb bob, sizes are correct and joints are tight so cement slurry does not leak. For slabs, props should stand on firm ground or planks and be braced. Leaky shuttering gives honeycombed concrete; weak props can lead to sagging or collapse during casting.
7. Concreting
For nominal mix M20 (1:1.5:3), one 50 kg bag of cement is about 34.7 litres in volume. That means roughly 52 litres of sand and 104 litres of aggregate per bag, measured with a proper box (farma), not with head pans counted roughly. At a water-cement ratio of 0.5, water is about 25 litres per bag, including moisture in the sand. Use the concrete calculator to work out materials for each pour.
- Watch for extra water being added to make placing easier. A quick slump test helps.
- A needle vibrator should be used for columns, beams and slabs.
- Avoid dropping concrete into tall columns from a great height (a common site limit is about 1.5 m). Use windows in the shuttering or a chute.
8. Curing
Keep concrete wet for at least 7 days with OPC and 10 to 14 days with PPC, which is the common cement on Nepali sites. Wrap columns in wet hessian, pond slabs and visit at different times of day to see that it is actually happening.
9. Brickwork
- Bricks should be soaked before use, so they do not suck water out of the mortar.
- Mortar ratio as per drawing, commonly 1:4 or 1:6 cement:sand.
- Joints around 10 mm, fully filled, with bricks laid frog up.
- Limit height built in one day, commonly to about 1 to 1.5 m, so the lower courses can set.
- Sill and lintel bands where shown in the drawing.
The brick calculator helps you check the number of bricks and the cement and sand delivered.
10. Beam and slab casting
- Check slab thickness at several points before casting.
- Top bars over beams and supports must be held up on chairs. Workers walking on the mesh push them down, which defeats their purpose.
- Electrical conduits should be placed before casting and should not displace bars or reduce cover.
- Cast the beam and slab together in one continuous pour if possible, with planned construction joints if not.
To keep the overall budget in view while you track each stage, use the house construction cost estimator.
Frequently asked questions
Which stage is most important for an owner to check?
Column and beam steel before concreting. It decides earthquake safety and cannot be checked once concrete is poured. Take photos of every column and beam before casting.
How can I check cover without tools?
Look for cover blocks on all sides of the cage and check their thickness with a ruler. If the steel touches the shuttering anywhere, the cover there is zero.
Should I keep records?
Yes. Keep a site diary with dates, photos, cube test results and material receipts. It helps with the municipality inspection and with any dispute later.
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