Storing materials on site: the cheapest quality control you can buy

Store under a proper roof, on wooden planks at least 150 mm off the floor, at least 300 mm clear of external walls, stacks no more than ten bags high. Use oldest stock first. Cover with polythene if the store is not fully weathertight.

Keep bars off the ground on sleepers, sorted by diameter, covered where possible. A light surface rust film is acceptable and even helps bond; flaking or pitted rust is not. Do not store steel where site water drains.

Stockpile on a hard, clean, well-drained platform, never directly on soil. Separate the fine and coarse stockpiles. Contaminated aggregate at the base of a pile is the most common invisible quality problem on Indian sites.

Tiles stay in their boxes, stacked flat, away from traffic. Paints, adhesives and chemicals go in a shaded, ventilated store within the temperature range on the label, with the shelf life checked before use.

A covered store, a hard stockpile platform and first-in-first-out discipline will save more money than any negotiation.

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