| Primary value | 4.5 kg / sqft (range 4.0 – 5.0 kg/sqft of built-up area) |
| Applies to | G+1 to G+5 residential RCC framing · M20 / M25 concrete with Fe500 reinforcement · Tender-stage estimation before BBS is finalised |
| Exceptions | Bungalow / villa (low loads) → 3.5 – 4.0 kg/sqft |
| Apartments (G+3 to G+10) → 4.5 – 5.0 kg/sqft | |
| High-rise residential (G+10+) → 5.0 – 5.5 kg/sqft | |
| Seismic zone IV / V → +10–15% for ductile detailing (IS 13920) | |
| Measured as | Total mass of reinforcement bars (main + distribution + stirrups + chairs) ÷ total built-up area in sqft. Built-up area includes plinth, all upper floors and roof slab. |
| Source | IS 456 — Clause 26.5 (volumetric ratios) 📚 Cross-referenced |
68 related items across IS codes, knowledge articles, design rules, maps and tools
Steel-per-sqft is the universal first-cut estimate every Indian contractor uses to budget rebar before BBS is drawn. 4.5 kg/sqft is the median of 1000+ residential builds — anything significantly below suggests under-design and anything significantly above suggests over-design (or transfer floors / heavy spans). Plug it into the floor area and you have your tender quantity within ±10%.
Estimators round to 5 kg/sqft for safety on residential bids. The number trends up with each storey (G+1 ≈ 4 kg, G+5 ≈ 5 kg) and adds another ~0.5 kg/sqft for full IS 13920 ductile detailing in seismic zones III and above.