Steel matches the grade and diameter on the drawing
Applies only if your house has an RCC spread footing foundation.
Why — act while you have leverage
Substituting a smaller diameter or a lower grade is invisible once concrete covers it, saves the contractor real money, and is exactly the swap a homeowner cannot detect later.
What to look at
- Rolled marking legible on the bar itself
- Bar count per footing matching the bar bending schedule
- Mill test certificate for the lot delivered
- Delivery challan for the steel lot
Documents to ask for
- Mill test certificate
- Delivery challan for the steel lot
How to check it yourself
Bars carry a rolled-on manufacturer mark and grade. Check the marking against the structural drawing, count the bars per footing, and measure a diameter with a vernier rather than accepting the bundle tag. Keep the mill test certificate with the delivery challan.
Where this comes from: IS 1786:2008 — High strength deformed steel bars for concrete reinforcement (Fe 415 / Fe 500 / Fe 500D) (indian standard or building code)
More foundation checks
- Photograph before this is covered
- Cover blocks in place — 50 mm to footing reinforcement
- Concrete cured for at least seven days
- Rubble foundation: through bond stones at every course band
- Rubble foundation: hearting solid, chips under a fifth of the volume
- RCC footing: size and depth as designed, on the correct stratum
- Raft foundation: reinforcement laid in the order the drawing gives and not walked flat
- Pile foundation: pile records kept for every pile, not a sample
- Under-reamed piles: bulb formed at the designed depth
- Plinth beam continuous and tied into the foundation
- Column starter bars plumb, with 40 mm cover and correct laps
- Backfill compacted in layers, not tipped in
- Damp proof course laid unbroken at plinth level