In a bid to help engineers and people using quality M-sand for wall plastering, a Public Works Department engineer has brought out a handbook that has simplified methods for wall plastering and for checking the quality of material at site.
Written by C. Kalyanasundaram, Superintending Engineer, PWD, Vellore circle, the book was released recently by Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan. With a foreword by Publi Works Minister E.V. Velu, the 30-page handbook elaborates on the simple steps for long-lasting wall plastering and to identify the quality of M-sand and Indian Standard Code guidelines.
Mr. Kalyanasundaram said: “We decided to compile a handbook to detect and avoid poor quality M-sand and guide other field officers on correct methods of wall plastering using M-sand. Ratio of cement and M-sand, workmanship and curing time are the deciding factors for quality wall-plastering.”
Three simple steps help in checking the quality of M-sand in the field. The M-sand material must be granular and it can be detected by analysing a photograph taken by a mobile phone. Besides the amount of mica content in M-sand, quick methods for finding quarry dust in material are explained with photographs, he added.
K.P. Sathyamurthy, Superintending Engineer, Madurai division, who chipped in for preparing the handbook, said M-sand was used in several government projects. “We have already distributed the copies of handbooks in Madurai and Vellore divisions to help engineers in the field. It will be useful to consumers in construction activity.”
For copies of the handbook, people may contact engineers at sathyamurthykp@gmail.com and techbookvlr@gmail.com.
