NEPAL NATIONAL BUILDING CODE
NBC 102 : 1994

UNIT WEIGHT OF MATERIALS

Government of Nepal

Ministry of Physical Planning and Works
Department of Urban Development and Building Construction
Babar Mahal, Kathmandu, NEPAL

Reprinted : 2064

NBC102V1.RV420 May 1994

NEPAL NATIONAL BUILDING CODE
NBC 102 : 1994

UNIT WEIGHT OF MATERIALSThis publication represents a standard of good practice and therefore
takes the form of recommendations. Compliance with it does not confer
immunity from relevant legal requirements, including bylaws
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Ministry of Physical Planning and Works
Department of Urban Development and Building Construction
Babar Mahal, Kathmandu, NEPAL

Reprinted : 2064

NBC102V1.RV420 May 1994

3PrefaceThis Nepal Standard was prepared during 1993 as part of a project to prepare a National Building Codefor Nepal.
In 1988 the Ministry of Housing and Physical Planning (MHPP), conscious of the growing needs ofNepal's urban and shelter sectors, requested technical assistance from the United Nations Development
Programme and their executing agency, United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (UNCHS).
A programme of Policy and Technical Support was set up within the Ministry (UNDP Project
NEP/88/054) and a number of activities have been undertaken within this framework.
The 1988 earthquake in Nepal, and the resulting deaths and damage to both housing and schools, again
drew attention to the need for changes and improvement in current building construction and design
methods.
Until now, Nepal has not had any regulations or documents of its own setting out either requirements orgood practice for achieving satisfactory strength in buildings.
In late 1991 the MHPP and UNCHS requested proposals for the development of such regulations anddocuments from international organisations in response to terms of reference prepared by a panel ofexperts.
This document has been prepared by the subcontractor's team working within the Department ofBuilding, the team including members of the Department and the MHPP. As part of the proposedmanagement and implementation strategy, it has been prepared so as to conform with the general
presentation requirements of the Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology.
The subproject has been undertaken under the aegis of an Advisory Panel to the MHPP.
The Advisory Panel consisted of :Mr. UB Malla, Joint Secretary, MHPP
Director General, Department of Building(Mr. LR Upadhyay)
Mr. AR Pant, Under Secretary, MHPP
Director General, Department of Mines & Geology(Mr. PL Shrestha)
Director General, Nepal Bureau of Standards & Metrology(Mr. PB Manandhar)
Dean, Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University(Dr. SB Mathe)
Project Chief, Earthquake Areas Rehabilitation &Reconstruction ProjectPresident, Nepal Engineers Association
Law Officer, MHPP (Mr. RB Dange)
Representative, Society of Consulting Architectural &Engineering Firms (SCAEF)

NBC102V1.RV4Chairman
MemberMemberMemberMemberMemberMemberMemberMemberMember

20 May 1994

4Representative, Society of Nepalese Architects (SONA)
Deputy Director General, Department of Building,(Mr. JP Pradhan)

MemberMember-Secretary

The Subcontractor was BECA WORLEY INTERNATIONAL CONSULTANTS LTD. of New
Zealand in conjunction with subconsultants who included :Golder Associates Ltd., Canada
SILT Consultants P. Ltd., Nepal
TAEC Consult (P.) Ltd., Nepal
Urban Regional Research, USA

Revisions and Updated to this code came from:
Mr. Purna P.Kadariya, DG, DUDBC
Mr. Kishore Thapa, DDG, DUDBC
Mr. Mani Ratna Tuladhar, Sr. Div. Engineer, DUDBC
Mr. Jyoti Prasad Pradhan, Ex. DG, DOB
Mr. Bhubaneswor Lal Shrestha, Ex. DDG, DOB
Mr. Uttam Shrestha, Architect, Architects' Module Pvt.Ltd.
Mr. Manohar Lal Rajbhandhari, Sr. Structural Engineer, MR Associates
Mr. Amrit Man Tuladhar, Civil Engineer, DUDBC

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5TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface............................................................................................................................................. 30Foreword ............................................................................................................................... 61.

SCOPE ................................................................................................................................... 1

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60 Foreword
This Nepal Standard for Unit Weight of Materials adopts the Indian Code IS:875 (Part 1) - 1987
Code fo Practice for Design Loads (Other than Earthquake) for Buildings and Structures, Part 1,Dead Loads-Unit Weights of Building Materials and Stored Materials, (Second Revision).

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1

1. SCOPEJUSTIFICATION FOR ADOPTING IS:875 (PART I)
During the desk study of codes from various countries (Uniform Building Code, IndonesianEarthquake Code, National Building Code of Indian and Yugoslavian Code, New ZealandCode) it was found that unit weight of very common types of materials were maintained thesame in each country. For country-specific materials, their variation in unit-weight with respect
to those of similar materials in other countries was also found to be minimal. Because of theunavailability of specific unit weights of Nepalese materials for various uses, and because of thesimilarity of materials and their uses in Nepal and India, Indian Standard IS: 875 (Part I) -1987
has been recommended for adoption in Nepal.

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