procuring materials like Cement and Steel

[dev13]

I am planning a 30x40 , G+3 construction.
Is it good to procure cement bags at once (or twice) and store it at site?
how long will they remain usable?

How about TMT bars, I heard from friends that they are prone to theft?
A friend told me for small constructions it is okay to use bars made of recycled steel, is that correct?
Should I go for Fe415 grade or Fe500 grade?

[naveenv]

Dev,
It is not recommended to store more than 100 cement bags at a time. It will be prone to moist and other wet conditions which will make cement unusable. Also regarding the TMT bars it again depends on your budget. There are buildings constructed with all kinds of steel in various rates. Theft is something which is common in construction sites. So if possible keep a watchman or else u can build a temporary shed and keep a couple of construction workers until the end of construction.

[dev13]

thanks Naveen. Can anyone comment on the question on grade and to go with recycled or not?

[m3_07]

1. Recycled iron is just not graded. Hence, do not even think about this. There is hardly any strength left in the same. If you are so keen, there are options available, where you can source 2nd hand iron bars - these are sold by the demolition experts.
2. FE500 is predominantly used in earth quake prone areas & TATA TISCON is the only manufacturer. Hence the price difference is 6K/ ton from FE415.
3. Cement in large quantities encourage pilferage.

[msn1270]

Unless you have a well covered storage area, do not buy the Cement or steel in bulk quantities. Cement is always prone to weather changes, especially water/moisture, when construction speed is not uniform for all stages of the building all the time as it is dependent on the external factors.

More over the price of these commodity items are cyclical. Usually May month onwards Cement Prices Softens due to less movement in the rainy season till october. Currently Steel and Cement Companies are underutilising their plant capaicites to control the prices in the Market due to various official and business reasons(lack of Iron Ore availability, Increased Freight charges, High Cost of Coke, reducing demand from Infrastructure projects...etc). Same trend may not continue for long time.

It may go up or down anytime based on the demand, Budget effect and the season. Either you can save or loose with bulk storage.

[parkom]

Isn't there any way of committing to a hardware dealer your whole requirement of cement and steel with a window of a reasonable time frame which would get the best wholesale price and also protect against price variations?

[ravi_c]

It is not advisable to keep bulk cement bags specially if the storage area is not well protected from both human and natural activities. You can keep about 50-60 bags that too when the construction has started. During the monsoons, cement is prone to get affected so the whole construction needs to be completed before the same. Regarding the steel bars, going for the brand would be advisable rather than the recycles ones specially when you have a G+3 design. Fe500 grade is the better option.