CivilTech Studio
Documentation
Learn the studio by doing one design, follow a guide for the task in front of you, look up a module or a limit, or read why the engines work the way they do.
- Getting startedOne guided task, start to finish: create an account, open a project, design a footing and download its report.
- How-to guidesNumbered steps for real tasks. Each guide assumes you are signed in with a verified email unless it says otherwise.
- ReferenceFacts to look up: every module, the plans and credits, export formats, shortcuts and file formats.
- ExplanationWhy the engines work the way they do — useful background when you review a result or explain it to a checker.
Getting started
Sign up, create a project, design an isolated footing to IS 456 and download the calculation report — about ten minutes.
In this tutorial you design one isolated footing for a 400 × 400 mm column, save it into a project and download its calculation report. You need an email address and nothing else — no card, no installation.
- Go to Sign up and fill in Full Name, Email Address, Password and Confirm Password.
- Select Create Account.
- Open the verification email and follow its link. Design tools stay locked until your email is verified.
A project groups every design for one building and gives them one title block and one submission pack.
- Open My Projects.
- Type a name in New project name — for example
Tutorial house— and select New project. The project hub opens. - In Project details, fill in the client, site address, engineer, checker and revision, then select Save details. These print on the report covers in the project.
- On the hub, under 3 Foundation design, select Start new: Single footing. Foundation Design opens on the Single Column tab, with a chip showing that saves go to your project.
- In the Design basis bar, choose
IS 456, enter the SBC as200kN/m² with the basis net (report), set Founding to1.5m, and pickM25concrete andFe500steel. - Under 1 Footing and task, select Design a footing and Isolated — best of pad or sloped.
- Under 2 Column, enter Width b (along X)
400and Depth h (along Y)400. - Under 3 Loads, enter the Dead case P as
800kN. Select + Imposed and enter its P as400kN. Loads are unfactored, at the top of the footing. - Select Run Design (or press Ctrl/⌘Enter).
Code IS 456 · SBC 200 kN/m² (net) · founding depth 1.5 m · M25 / Fe500
Column 400 × 400 mm
Dead P = 800 kN · Imposed P = 400 kNThe result shows the chosen plan size, depth and bars, and every check as demand ÷ capacity with its load combination and code clause. A check passes at 1.00 or below; the footing passes only when every check does.
- Select Save in the toolbar under the design basis bar.
- Go back to the project hub. The footing is listed under 3 Foundation design, and the stage shows its status.
- In the result header, select PDF. The calculation report downloads with every check’s working, a soil-pressure plan, shear and moment diagrams, and the bar schedule.
- To issue everything in the project at once, go to the hub and select Generate submission pack under 6 Submission pack. You get a ZIP with a cover sheet and one PDF per design.
How-to guides
Size a pad, sloped pad or strip footing under one column or wall, with full load cases and combinations.
- Open Foundation Design and select the Single Column tab.
- In the Design basis bar, choose the code (IS 456, ACI 318, Eurocode 2, AS 3600 or CSA A23.3), the SBC and whether it is net (report) or gross / presumed, the founding depth, concrete, steel and cover.
- Under 1 Footing and task, select Design a footing and a type: Isolated — best of pad or sloped, Pad, Sloped or Strip under a wall.
- Under 2 Column, enter Width b (along X) and Depth h (along Y). For an edge column, open Column off the centre, and its bars and enter Offset along X and Offset along Y.
- Under 3 Loads, enter the unfactored Dead case (P, Mx, My, Hx, Hy). Add + Imposed, + Snow, + Wind or + Earthquake cases as needed. Mx moves the load along X.
- Optional: under Your own combinations, select Add a combination to design for your own combinations alongside the code’s.
- Under 4 Soil, check the soil unit weight, water table, base friction μ and the SBC increase for wind or earthquake.
- Under 5 Size and bars, leave the size blank to let the search design it, or fix any dimension.
- Select Run Design (Ctrl/⌘Enter).
- Read the checks: each shows demand ÷ capacity, the governing combination and the clause. Select PDF to download the calculation report.
See also: Foundation Design for combined footings, pile caps and the other footing types.
Enter a footing as drawn — size, depth and bars — and get every check against your loads.
- Open Foundation Design on the Single Column tab.
- Under 1 Footing and task, select Check a footing I have and the footing type.
- Enter the column, the load cases and the soil as for a design.
- Under 5 The footing and its bars, enter the plan size, depth and bars exactly as drawn.
- Select Run Design. The result lists every check with its ratio; anything above 1.00 fails and names the clause.
Design every footing on a plot in one run, with overlaps resolved and each footing re-checked where it ends up.
- Open Foundation Design and select the Site Plan tab.
- Bring in the columns: Import Model (ETABS
.e2kor CSV), Import Loads (a support-reactions table), or Templates for a sample project. - Set the plot boundary. Auto builds one from the column positions — convex hull, rectangular, uniform padding, or grid plus padding.
- Set the SBC and design parameters. If you have SPT N-values, SPT estimates the SBC from them.
- Select Run Site Optimization, or click outside the fields and press Ctrl/⌘Enter.
- Review the plan view, the 3D view and the results table. Select a column to open its checks. Columns that fail list the reason and the remedy tried.
- Open Export to download reports, schedules, IFC or DXF drawings.
See also: The site plan engine for how each placed footing is checked again where it ends up.
Turn a support-reactions table into column loads for Site Plan or the footing schedule.
- In your analysis program, export the Joint Reactions (ETABS, SAFE, SAP2000) or Support Reactions (STAAD.Pro) table to Excel or CSV.
- In Foundation Design, open Site Plan and select Import Loads, or open the Footing Schedule tab.
- Choose the file. For STAAD, add the
.stdfile as the coordinates file if you want joint positions and load types. - Check the vertical axis — Z up (CSI) or Y up (STAAD) — and the units the importer found.
- Under Load cases, check each case’s type. Under Joints → columns, match each joint to a column or create a New column.
- Select Import.
.xlsx .xlsm .csv .txt .tsv (+ STAAD .std for coordinates)
Template: /templates/civiltech-load-import-template.csvThe conversion from reactions to foundation loads is listed under Load import formats.
Size a cantilever RC retaining wall for stability and strength, or let the optimiser find the cheapest wall that passes.
- Open Retaining Wall Designer.
- Under Code & safety factors, pick the Design code / country. For IS 456 and ACI 318 you can override the Overturning FoS and Sliding FoS; Eurocode 2 uses EN 1997 partial factors instead.
- Under Geometry, enter Total height H (underside of base to top of ground), the stem thicknesses, Base thickness, Toe length (0 = L-shaped) and Heel length (0 = reversed L).
- Under Backfill, enter the unit weight, Friction angle φ', Surcharge q, the ground slope and any water level behind the wall.
- Under Foundation soil, enter the Allowable bearing pressure and base friction. Add a shear key or passive resistance under Sliding resistance if you rely on them.
- Under Reinforcement, choose Design bars for me, or Check my bars to enter your own.
- Select Run Design, or leave Live on to recompute as you type.
- To size the wall automatically, select Size it for me. Pick a wall from the alternatives plotted by cost and governing ratio.
- Open the Exports tab: PDF or Excel for the report, DXF section for the drawing.
Download true-scale CAD drawings with real dimensions, standard layers and a shared title block.
Every DXF is drawn at its stated scale, with real CAD dimensions, standard layers and lineweights, and one title block on every sheet. Values come from the design; anything missing prints as "as specified" or "not supplied".
- Run a site plan (see Run a site plan).
- Open Export and, under CAD / BIM, choose a sheet: Foundation Plan, Column Layout, Footing Sections, Rebar Details, General Notes, Excavation Plan, 3D Wireframe or Complete Set (ZIP).
- In the dialog, choose the Paper Size, Scale and Unit System, then select Export DXF. The foundation plan, column layout and excavation plan ignore the scale you pick: they print at the largest standard scale that fits the whole site on the sheet.
| Module | Button | Drawing |
|---|---|---|
| Foundation Design — pile cap | Drawing (DXF) next to the calculation PDF | Plan with every pile, section, bars both ways, schedule |
| Retaining Wall Designer | DXF section on the Exports tab | Section with battered stem, bars, curtailment and pressure diagram |
| Water Tank Design | Download DXF | Tank drawing with the engine’s bars and spacing |
| Basement Design | DXF | Wall and slab drawing |
| Building Bye-laws Compliance | DXF setback plan | Dimensioned plot, setbacks and buildable envelope (free, no sign-in) |
Submit a saved design to a named checker, have it checked and approved, and lock it once signed off.
- Save the design. A review covers the saved version — save your latest changes before you submit.
- Share the design with your checker (and approver, if you use one). An external reviewer can be a viewer: they can check and approve without being able to change any input.
- Select Review in the module toolbar. As the owner, pick the Checker and, optionally, the Approver, then select Save assignment. You can also Share as viewer by email from the panel.
- The designer (the owner or an editor) selects Submit for checking. The checker is notified.
- The checker opens the design from the notification and selects Mark as checked, or Request changes… with a note (optionally opening a comment thread on the design).
- If an approver is assigned, they select Approve (or request changes). Without an approver, the check is the final sign-off.
- Draft — being designed. Edits save normally.
- In review — submitted to the named checker. Inputs are locked; the designer can Withdraw from review.
- Checked — the checker passed it. Inputs are locked; the approver (if any) approves or requests changes.
- Approved — signed off. Inputs are locked until someone selects Revise (unlock).
- Changes requested — back with the designer, with the reviewer’s note. Edit, save and submit again.
- Only the owner assigns the checker and approver, from the people the design is shared with.
- Only the assigned checker checks, and only the assigned approver approves.
- Nobody checks or approves their own work: whoever submitted it, and anyone who saved changes to its inputs since the last approval, cannot be its checker or approver, and the checker cannot also approve. Working alone? The owner can tick Allow self-check — it is recorded in the audit trail, and the report says “(self-checked)”.
- The owner or an editor submits, withdraws and revises.
While a design is in review, checked or approved, the server refuses any change to its inputs or results — from any device — with a message saying why. Renaming it, its notes and its project status still save. Revise (unlock) returns it to Draft for the next round; the audit trail and the last approved revision are kept. A sign-off is bound to the exact saved revision it was given for: if the content ever changes, that sign-off no longer applies and the design must be submitted again.
Every step — who, when, which revision and round, and the note — is recorded by the server in the Audit trail at the bottom of the panel.
Calculation reports of a saved design carry its review status on every page: “Review: Checked by … on … (rev n)”, “Review: Approved by … on … (rev n)”, or “Review: Not reviewed”. The line comes from the server, so it always matches the review record — and only a report made from exactly the reviewed inputs shows a clean approval. A report whose inputs differ says so; where a report’s inputs can’t be matched to the saved design, it says the inputs were not verified.
Review steps always appear in your notifications. You also get at most one email per design an hour; turn review emails off in Profile → My practice.
See who else has a shared design open, who is editing it, and when someone saves a newer version.
When a saved design is shared and someone else has it open, their initials appear next to My Designs in the design toolbar. Hover or focus an initial for the name and role. The person who is editing has a ring and a pencil.
- The first person to change an input becomes the editor. Everyone else who can edit sees a banner such as Ananya is editing — your changes may conflict.
- By default you are on View only: inputs are read-only until they stop editing (a minute or two after their last change, or as soon as they close the design).
- To make changes anyway, select Edit anyway. If they save first, your Save is refused and you can select Save as a copy to keep your work.
- If you own the design, Take over makes you the editor. The previous editor is told on their next update.
You see a banner such as Ananya saved a new version. Select Reload to load their version. Unsaved changes on your page are replaced, so save a copy first if you need them.
Qualify for Starter or Academic pricing by sending your ID for review.
- Sign in and open Verify your status.
- Choose Starter — student / freelancer or Academic — professor / researcher.
- Upload your college ID card (Starter) or faculty credentials (Academic) — JPEG, PNG, WebP or PDF, up to 5 MB, with your name and institution visible.
- For Academic, enter your Institutional email (.edu, .ac.in, .ac.uk and similar).
- Select Submit for review. The page shows Under review until a reviewer decides.
- When it shows Approved, select Continue to checkout to subscribe at the discounted rate. If it shows Not approved, read the reviewer’s notes and upload a new document.
Build a full take-off — bar-bending schedule, bill of quantities and whole-building cost — from a description, a model or a table.
- Open the RC Building Estimator. It works without signing in; sign in to save to the cloud.
- Start one of three ways: fill in Describe the building — the estimate builds itself (Built-up area per floor (m²), Floors (ground + upper), Building, Where, Specification) and select Build my estimate; select Import IFC to take members from a model; or start from a template.
- Check the member tables. Each row is a wall, column, beam, slab or footing with a count × floors multiplier and its bars. Paste rows from a spreadsheet if you have them.
- Set rates, finishes and detailing factors under Settings.
- Select Generate estimate (Ctrl/⌘Enter).
- Read the results: concrete by mix and level, the bar-bending schedule, rebar by diameter, the priced bill and the cost by trade, with a per-sq-ft back-check.
- Open Export for the estimate PDF, the full Excel workbook, the tender BOQ, the bar-bending schedule (PDF or CSV), the measurement book, the programme or the Submission pack — ZIP.
Move an estimate through draft, submitted, checked and approved, with comments and a log.
- Generate the estimate. Review steps need a current result — regenerate after any change.
- In the review bar, select Submit for checking.
- The checker comments on items of the bill and selects Mark checked, or Send back with comments.
- The approver selects Approve. An approved estimate is locked; select Revise to change it.
Every step is written to the estimate’s log with who took it. Signed-in steps carry the account; steps taken at a shared desk carry the typed name and are marked as such.
Open IFC models, cut sections and plans, track BCF issues, take off quantities and share a model with a client.
- Open the BIM workspace.
- Select New project, Quick open IFC, Sample project or Import project (a
.ctsapackage). - In Model Viewer, add more IFC files from the Model panel to federate them. Use Section for section planes and Plans for storey floor plans.
- Select an element to read its properties. Press H to hide it, I to isolate it, F to fit the view.
- Select Add Issue to raise a BCF issue with a snapshot. Manage issues under Issues; see totals under Dashboard.
- Open BOQ for quantities taken from the IFC.
- Use Paint and Sun to recolour finishes and study daylight; Export image or video saves a PNG or a video.
- To share, open Project actions → Share with client, pick the model, a link expiry (7, 30, 90 or 365 days) and an optional watermark, then select Create client link.
For a report, select Issue report on the Dashboard or Report on Issues, choose PDF document or Excel workbook, group the issues and download. Project actions → Export project package saves the whole project as one .ctsa file, optionally password-protected.
Check a plot and a proposed building against your state’s bye-laws, clause by clause, and download the setback plan.
- Open Building Bye-laws Compliance. It works without signing in.
- Choose the state: Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh or Delhi.
- Enter the plot: the four side lengths, the compass direction each side runs (N = 0, E = 90, S = 180, W = 270), and the width of every road it faces.
- Enter the building you intend: floors, height, use and the elements free of FAR such as stilt or basement. Declare any site constraints.
- Select Check compliance, or leave Live on.
- Read each rule with its clause. Rules not transcribed for your state are listed as not checked.
- Download the DXF setback plan or the PDF report.
For a building that already stands, switch to As built to see whether the deviations can be regularised and, where the rules allow it, the compounding fee.
Download every design in a project — bye-laws to estimate — as one ZIP with a cover sheet.
- Open the project from My Projects.
- Fill in Project details and select Save details. The revision goes into the file name.
- Add designs stage by stage: Start new opens a module with the project as its save target; Add existing design links one you already saved.
- Use the hand-offs: Hand SBC to Foundation on a geotechnical design, Send footings to Estimator on a foundation design.
- Under 6 Submission pack, select Generate submission pack.
The ZIP holds 0-cover-sheet.pdf — contents, hand-offs and a reason for anything left out — and one PDF per design, each made by that module’s own report. Cube-test registers have no report, and designs saved in the older foundation store are listed as not included.
Reference
| Module | Opens at | Main codes | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation Design | /civiltechstudio/foundation-design/app | IS 456, ACI 318, EC2; AS 3600 and CSA A23.3 on Single Column | Live |
| Geotechnical Analysis | /civiltechstudio/geotechnical/app | IS 6403, Meyerhof, Bowles, IS 1893 | Live |
| Retaining Wall Designer | /civiltechstudio/retaining-wall-design/app | IS 456 / IS 14458, ACI 318, EC2 + EN 1997 | Live |
| Basement Design | /civiltechstudio/basement-design/app | IS 456 + IS 3370, ACI 318, EC2 | Live |
| Slab Designer | /civiltechstudio/slab-design/app | IS 456, ACI 318, EC2 | Live |
| Section Design | /civiltechstudio/section-design/app | IS 456, ACI 318, EC2; timber IS 883, NDS, EC5 | Live |
| RC Shear Wall / Core Designer | /civiltechstudio/shear-wall/app | IS 456 + IS 13920, ACI 318, EC2 + EC8 | Live |
| Masonry Wall Design | /civiltechstudio/masonry-design/app | IS 1905, TMS 402, EC6 | Live |
| Concrete Mix Design | /civiltechstudio/concrete-mix-design/app | IS 10262, ACI 211.1, BS 8500 / EN 206 | Live |
| Water Tank Design | /civiltechstudio/water-tank-design/app | IS 3370, ACI 350, EN 1992-3 | Live |
| Septic Tank Designer | /civiltechstudio/septic-tank/app | IS 2470 | Live |
| Rainwater Harvesting Pit | /civiltechstudio/rainwater-pit/app | CGWB, IS 15797 | Live |
| Cube Test Register | /civiltechstudio/cube-test-register | IS 456 Cl 16 | Beta |
| RC Building Estimator | /civiltechstudio/rc-estimator | IS estimating practice, IS 1200 | Beta |
| Building Bye-laws Compliance | /civiltechstudio/bihar-bylaws | Bihar, Jharkhand, UP, Delhi bye-laws | Beta |
| Building Viewer | /civiltechstudio/archviz/app | IFC, BCF | Beta |
Each module also has a public landing page at its folder — for example /civiltechstudio/slab-design — with a worked overview and FAQs. The tool itself needs a signed-in account with a verified email, except the RC Building Estimator and Building Bye-laws Compliance, which work signed out.
Single Column designs or checks pads, sloped pads, strips under walls, plain concrete pads, combined footings and mats under 2–6 columns, and pile caps on 1–9 piles. Footing Schedule designs a list of columns at once. Site Plan places and designs every footing on a plot.
Open it at /civiltechstudio/foundation-design/app. Status: live.
- IS 456:2000, ACI 318-19 and EN 1992-1-1 (Eurocode 2) — every footing type and mode.
- AS 3600:2018 (with AS/NZS 1170.0) and CSA A23.3-19 (with NBCC 2020) — reinforced pads, sloped pads, strips, combined footings and pile caps, on the Single Column tab only.
- Load combinations per IS 875 / IS 456, ASCE 7-16 and EN 1990, in three families: service (soil), strength (concrete) and stability.
- Design basis: code, SBC and its basis (net or gross), founding depth, concrete, steel, cover.
- Column or wall size, and offsets for an edge column.
- Load cases Dead, Imposed, Snow, Wind and Earthquake, each with P, Mx, My, Hx, Hy — unfactored, at the top of the footing.
- Optional: your own combinations, soil unit weight, water table, base friction, passive resistance, crack-width limit, cost rates, plan grid step and longest L:B.
- Pile caps: pile diameter, safe compression, uplift and lateral loads, spacing and edge distance.
- Every check as demand ÷ capacity, with the combination, the clause and the working.
- Soil pressure from a tensionless biaxial solution; 3D model; strip shear and moment diagrams for any strength combination.
- Options explorer: up to 12 plans weighed, plotted by cost against governing ratio.
- FEM cross-check of the designed footing — a plate on soil springs, or a beam on springs for a strip — beside the rigid result and flagged when they disagree (for review; never changes pass or fail).
- Deep pile caps: a Strut-and-tie (deep cap) result group (struts, nodes, ties, anchorage). Under AS 3600 it governs; under the other codes it is shown beside the sectional check. 3-pile caps use the sectional checks.
- Bar-bending schedule (BBS tab), excavation, comparison and sensitivity tabs.
- Exports: calculation PDF, vector PDF, executive summary PDF, Excel, JSON; pile-cap DXF. Site Plan adds CSV, Excel, IFC, an FEM calculation report and DXF drawing sheets.
- AS 3600 and CSA A23.3 do not cover plain pads, the Other types, the Footing Schedule or Site Plan.
- Strap and raft foundations use the earlier cascade engine (Other types) with one service load.
- Not modelled: trapezoidal combined footings, pile-group efficiency.
- Site Plan: a corner column flush with two boundaries needs a two-way strap or tie-beam grid, which is not designed — it fails with that remedy named.
Safe bearing capacity from a borehole log, with settlement, liquefaction screening and specialist checks.
Results are net SBC with the governing method named.
Open it at /civiltechstudio/geotechnical/app. Status: live.
- IS 6403, Terzaghi, Meyerhof and Bowles SPT correlations; settlement by Burland & Burbidge.
- Liquefaction screening per IS 1893-1 Annex F and the NCEER simplified procedure.
- Rock bearing per IS 12070 and Carter–Kulhawy.
- Soil profile: layers with SPT N-values, unit weights and the water table; footing width and depth.
- Boreholes from AGS files; CPT data.
- Tabs: Soil Profile, Results, Diagrams, Calculations, Correlations, Boreholes (AGS), CPT Data, Rock Bearing, Ground Improvement, Downdrag (NSF), Liquefaction Mitigation, Pile Lateral, Nonlinear Soil.
- Exports: PDF calculation report. In a project, Hand SBC to Foundation passes the governing SBC and its basis to Foundation Design.
- The SBC is net unless stated. Check that the basis matches what Foundation Design expects (net (report) or gross / presumed).
Cantilever RC retaining walls — stability, then the stem, heel and toe in bending and shear — or the cheapest wall that passes.
Open it at /civiltechstudio/retaining-wall-design/app. Status: live.
- IS 456 / IS 14458: practice factors of safety (overturning 2.0, sliding 1.5; 1.5 and 1.2 with earthquake) plus cl. 20.1 and 20.2.
- ACI 318-19: IBC 2021 §1807.2.3 (factor of safety 1.5, or 1.1 with 0.7E).
- EN 1992-1-1 with EN 1997-1: EQU for overturning, DA1 combinations for sliding and bearing.
- Earth pressure by Rankine or Coulomb; seismic by Mononobe–Okabe.
- Total height H from the underside of the base; stem thicknesses (tapered stem allowed), base thickness, toe and heel lengths (either may be 0).
- Backfill: unit weight, friction angle, wall friction, surcharge, ground slope, water levels behind and in front.
- Foundation soil, base friction, passive resistance, optional shear key; seismic kh and kv.
- Materials, exposure, and either Design bars for me or Check my bars.
- Overturning, sliding, bearing and global (Bishop) stability; member checks as demand ÷ capacity with clauses.
- To-scale stability diagram, member bending and shear diagrams, detailing and a bar schedule (S1–S4, B1–B5, K1–K2).
- Size it for me returns up to 15 alternatives.
- Exports: PDF and Excel report; DXF section.
- Bishop circles don’t model the shear key or the seismic case.
- No shrinkage curvature in deflection; water in front of the wall isn’t counted as resisting; no seismic increase on allowable bearing.
- Factor-of-safety overrides apply to IS 456 and ACI 318 only.
Basement walls and base slabs, with earth pressure, buoyancy and waterproofing checks.
Open it at /civiltechstudio/basement-design/app. Status: live.
- IS 456 with IS 3370 crack-width limits
- ACI 318
- Eurocode 2
- Basement depth, plan length and width, wall and slab thicknesses.
- Wall support: Propped (by the slab above) or Cantilever.
- SBC, soil properties and water table; surcharge.
- Wall and base-slab moments and steel, crack width, uplift factor of safety.
- Exports: design calculation PDF, vector PDF, Excel, DXF, JSON.
- Waterproofing is checked as crack-width control on the concrete; membranes are drawn, not designed.
Open it at /civiltechstudio/slab-design/app. Status: live.
- IS 456:2000 (Annex D coefficients, Table 26)
- ACI 318-19
- EN 1992-1-1
- Two-way: short and long spans, panel type (nine edge-restraint cases).
- One-way: span and support condition. Flat slab: spans L1 and L2, column size.
- Loads, thickness, materials, cover.
- Design moments, steel areas, minimum-steel governance, deflection (span/depth), punching shear.
- Exports: PDF and Excel report.
- Annex D two-way coefficients apply to panels with ly/lx ≤ 2; a longer panel acts one-way, so design it as one.
- Flat slabs use the direct design method.
Open it at /civiltechstudio/section-design/app. Status: live.
- RC: IS 456:2000, ACI 318-19, Eurocode 2
- Timber: IS 883:2016, NDS 2024, Eurocode 5
- Member type, section size, cover, concrete and steel grades.
- Beams: Mu, Vu (and torsion). Columns: Pu, Mux, Muy, unsupported length.
- Flexure, shear, torsion, crack width; column P–M interaction and biaxial bending.
- Exports: PDF report.
- One section at a time; the member forces come from your own analysis.
Structural walls and cores for in-plane axial load and bending, in-plane shear and boundary elements.
Open it at /civiltechstudio/shear-wall/app. Status: live.
- IS 456 with IS 13920:2016
- ACI 318-19 §18.10
- EN 1992-1-1 with EN 1998-1
- Wall length and thickness, web steel (two curtains), boundary bars.
- Factored axial load, in-plane moment and shear; materials.
- P–M interaction envelope by strain compatibility, shear (Vc + Vs ≤ Vmax), boundary-element trigger and confinement, minimum steel.
- Exports: PDF and Excel report.
- In-plane actions only.
Load-bearing and confined masonry walls, with seismic band and vertical-steel detailing.
Open it at /civiltechstudio/masonry-design/app. Status: live.
- IS 1905 with IS 4326 and IS 13828 (seismic detailing)
- TMS 402
- EN 1996 (Eurocode 6)
- Wall height, length and thickness; masonry unit and mortar; loads; seismic zone.
- Slenderness, stress-reduction factors, permissible against actual stress; plinth, lintel and roof bands and vertical steel.
- Exports: PDF and Excel report.
- One wall at a time; the loads come from your own analysis.
Concrete mix proportions, with grade and cement optimisation and a nominal-mix output.
Open it at /civiltechstudio/concrete-mix-design/app. Status: live.
- IS 10262:2019
- ACI 211.1
- BS 8500 / EN 206
- Grade, exposure, slump (25–200 mm), maximum aggregate size (10–40 mm), aggregate shape, grading zone, cement type.
- Proportions per m³, trial batches, grading and QC panels, optimisation and comparison.
- Exports: PDF and Excel report.
- Proportions are a starting point for trial mixes; confirm by trial batches.
Circular and rectangular liquid-retaining tanks: hoop tension, wall and base moments, crack width and uplift.
Open it at /civiltechstudio/water-tank-design/app. Status: live.
- IS 3370 (working stress) with IS 1893-2 sloshing
- ACI 350-06
- EN 1992-3
- Shape, size, water depth, wall and base thickness, freeboard; soil and water table; materials.
- Hoop and vertical steel, permissible-stress and crack checks, flotation factor of safety, sloshing.
- Exports: report PDF and Excel, calculation report PDF, BoQ PDF, DXF. FEM analysis is metered.
- Circular and rectangular tanks only.
Open it at /civiltechstudio/septic-tank/app. Status: live.
- IS 2470 (Part 1) with CPHEEO per-capita flows. The country selector shows the matching US (EPA 625) and EU (EN 12566) references.
- Number of users, sewage per capita, detention time, sludge per capita, cleaning interval, liquid depth, length-to-width ratio, freeboard.
- Sewage flow, detention and sludge volumes, tank length, width, depth; compartment guidance.
- Exports: PDF and Excel report.
- The sizing is always to IS 2470; the country selector changes the cited references, not the numbers.
Open it at /civiltechstudio/rainwater-pit/app. Status: live.
- CGWB recharge guidance, IS 15797, rational method (Q = C·i·A)
- Roof area, rainfall, runoff coefficient, soil infiltration rate, pit depth, storage time, fill porosity.
- Annual harvestable volume, peak inflow, pit dimensions, infiltration check.
- Exports: PDF and Excel report.
- Sizing follows CGWB guidance whichever country is selected.
Open it at /civiltechstudio/cube-test-register. Status: beta.
- IS 456:2000 Cl 16 and Table 11 (individual and 4-group acceptance), Cl 15.3–15.4, Table 8; IS 516 test method
- Grade, pours with their 7- and 28-day cube results, quantity, and the site standard deviation once established.
- Individual-result and 4-consecutive-group acceptance, non-conformance flags, 7-day trend check.
- Save and JSON export; no PDF report.
- Acceptance is to IS 456; the country selector changes the cited references.
Element-by-element take-off of an RC building, then its complete cost — structure, masonry, finishes and services.
Open it at /civiltechstudio/rc-estimator. Status: beta. Works without signing in.
- Standard IS estimating practice; plaster measured to IS 1200.
- A quick-start brief (area per floor, floors, use, place, specification), an IFC model, a template, or member tables.
- Walls, columns, beams, slabs and footings, each with count × floors and its bars; rates, finishes, laps, hooks and wastage.
- Concrete by mix and level; cement, sand and aggregate; bar-bending schedule with real cutting lengths; rebar by diameter; priced BOQ; cost by trade; per-sq-ft back-check.
- Plan, tender and contract stages: cash flow, purchases, proposal, bids, RA bills, variations, cost report.
- Exports: estimate PDF, full Excel workbook, tender BOQ, BBS (PDF, CSV), measurement book, MS Project XML programme, IFC with the estimate, submission pack ZIP.
- Quick-start sizes are preliminary and rates indicative; the quick start goes to G+9.
- Built for non-engineered rural and semi-urban buildings.
A clause-cited pre-check of a plot and a proposed building against a state’s bye-laws, with the setback plan drawn and sanction fees estimated.
Regularisation mode checks a building that already stands.
Open it at /civiltechstudio/bihar-bylaws. Status: beta. Works without signing in.
- Bihar (gazette-verified); Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi (draft — verify against gazette). See Bye-laws jurisdictions.
- Four side lengths, the compass direction of each side, the width of every road the plot faces; deed area, a corner angle or a diagonal for irregular plots.
- The building: floors, height, use, FAR-free elements (stilt, basement, service floor), site constraints.
- Optional: a site-plan DXF to check against the setback envelope.
- Setbacks, ground coverage, FAR, height, floor count, access road, plot size, parking, high-rise trigger — each with its clause.
- Rules not transcribed for the state, named as not checked; itemised sanction fees (unknown where unpublished); document checklist.
- Exports: DXF setback plan and PDF report.
- A pre-check, not a sanction. UP excludes NOIDA, Greater NOIDA and YEIDA.
A BIM workspace for IFC models: federate models, cut sections and plans, track BCF issues, take off quantities, paint finishes and share private client links.
Open it at /civiltechstudio/archviz/app. Status: beta.
- IFC models; BCF issues
- IFC files (
.ifc), or a project package (.ctsaor.zip).
- Sections, storey plans, views, sets, notes, issues with snapshots, dashboards, quantities (BOQ).
- Exports: PNG image, turntable or recorded video, issue report (PDF or Excel), project package, client link (7–365 days).
- Measurements are metric.
- Signed out, projects stay in this browser; sign in to keep models in your cloud storage.
| Tool | Opens at |
|---|---|
| Section property lookup | /civiltechstudio/sections |
| Beam Sketch & Solve | /civiltechstudio/sketch |
| RCC Cost Estimator | /civiltechstudio/cost-estimator |
| Submittal generator | /civiltechstudio/submittal |
| Rebar Area & Spacing | /civiltechstudio/rebar-area |
| Steel Weight | /civiltechstudio/steel-weight |
| Development & Lap Length | /civiltechstudio/rebar-development |
| BBS Cutting Length | /civiltechstudio/bbs-cutting-length |
| Seismic Base Shear | /civiltechstudio/seismic-base-shear |
| Wind Pressure | /civiltechstudio/wind-pressure |
| Load Combinations | /civiltechstudio/load-combinations |
| Bearing Capacity | /civiltechstudio/bearing-capacity |
| Section Property Calculator | /civiltechstudio/section-properties |
| Preliminary Sizing | /civiltechstudio/preliminary-sizing |
| Unit Converter | /civiltechstudio/unit-converter |
| Earthwork Volume | /civiltechstudio/earthwork-volume |
| Code Clause Compass | /civiltechstudio/codes |
| Engineering glossary | /civiltechstudio/glossary |
| Compare codes (IS / ACI / EC) | /civiltechstudio/compare-codes |
| Failure post-mortems | /civiltechstudio/failures |
| Formula Sheet | /civiltechstudio/formula-sheet |
| Daily Design Challenge | /civiltechstudio/daily |
| University Mode | /civiltechstudio/university |
| Practice Quiz | /civiltechstudio/quiz |
The full list, grouped by purpose, is on Free tools.
Every plan opens every module. Plans differ in monthly credits, saved projects, batch size and a few features. Credits pay for heavy compute and some exports; ordinary design runs are free.
| Limit | Free | Starter | Academic | Professional | Business | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price / month | ₹0 | ₹499/mo | ₹999/mo | ₹1,999/mo | ₹4,999/mo | Custom |
| Credits / month | 10 | 200 | 500 | 1,500 | 5,000 | Unlimited |
| Saved projects | 1 | 10 | 50 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Columns per batch | 1 | 5 | 15 | 50 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| FEM | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| BBS export | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Site Plan optimisation | — | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| PDF watermark | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Team seats | — | — | — | — | 10 | Unlimited |
| Free trial | — | — | — | 14 days | — | — |
| Action | Cost | Also needs |
|---|---|---|
| Design runs in any module, including single footings, combined footings, pile caps and the footing FEM cross-check | Free | — |
| Site Plan optimisation | 0.2 per column, rounded up, minimum 1 (25 columns = 5, 50 = 10) | Site optimisation in your plan |
| FEM analysis (footing, pile, water tank) | 1 credit | FEM in your plan |
| Site Plan PDF report | 1 credit | — |
| DXF export — Site Plan, basement, water tank, retaining wall, pile cap | 2 credits | — |
| BBS export (Excel or PDF) | 1 credit | BBS in your plan |
| Other calculation PDFs, the bye-laws DXF and PDF, the RC estimator | Free | — |
Starter and Academic pricing need a verified student or academic ID — see Submit your student or academic ID. A new account gets one Professional trial per verified email.
| Module | Spreadsheet | Drawing / model | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation — Single Column | Calculation, vector, executive summary | Excel | Pile-cap DXF | JSON, share link |
| Foundation — Site Plan | Site report, FEM calculation report | CSV schedule, spring stiffness CSV, Excel | DXF sheets or ZIP set, IFC | JSON model |
| Retaining Wall Designer | Report | Excel | DXF section | — |
| Basement Design | Design calculation, vector | Excel | DXF | JSON, share link |
| Water Tank Design | Report, calculation report, BoQ | Excel | DXF | JSON, share link |
| Slab, Shear Wall, Septic Tank, Rainwater Pit | Report | Excel | — | JSON, share link |
| Masonry Wall Design | Report | Excel | — | — |
| Cube Test Register | — | — | — | JSON, share link |
| Section Design | Report | — | — | JSON, share link |
| Concrete Mix Design | Report | Excel | — | — |
| Geotechnical Analysis | Calculation report | — | — | — |
| RC Building Estimator | Estimate, proposal, BBS, measurement book | Workbook, tender BOQ, BBS CSV | IFC with the estimate | MS Project XML, submission ZIP |
| Building Bye-laws Compliance | Compliance report | — | DXF setback plan | — |
| Building Viewer (BIM) | Issue report | Issue report (Excel) | PNG, video | .ctsa package, client link |
| Project hub | One per design, plus a cover sheet | — | — | Submission pack ZIP |
Inputs are entered in metric. Where a module offers Export units, you can print the report in SI or Imperial.
Everywhere
| Keys | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl/⌘K | Search the studio — modules, tools and docs |
| Ctrl/⌘/ | Show the shortcut list on a module page |
| / | Search these docs |
Foundation Design — Single Column
| Keys | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl/⌘Enter | Run the design |
| Ctrl/⌘P | Download the PDF report |
| Ctrl/⌘S | Copy a result summary to the clipboard |
| Esc | Leave focus mode |
Foundation Design — Site Plan
| Keys | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl/⌘EnterorCtrl/⌘R | Run the site optimisation |
| Ctrl/⌘E | Open the export dialog |
| Ctrl/⌘Z | Undo the last resolution |
| ↑ ↓ | Move between columns in the results |
| Enter | Open the column’s checks |
| Delete | Remove the column under the pointer (before a run) |
| ? | Show the shortcut overlay |
| Esc | Close the open panel |
RC Building Estimator
| Keys | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl/⌘Z | Undo a change to the tables |
| Ctrl/⌘ShiftZorCtrl/⌘Y | Redo |
| Ctrl/⌘S | Save the estimate |
| Ctrl/⌘Enter | Generate the estimate |
| ↑ ↓ | Move between rows |
| Enter on the last row | Add a row |
| F · 1 2 3 4 | Model: fit; iso, top, front, side views |
| C · B | Model: section plane; section box |
| ? | Show the shortcut list |
| Esc | Close a panel, the settings or full screen |
Building Viewer (BIM workspace)
| Keys | What it does |
|---|---|
| F | Fit the selection, or everything |
| H | Hide the selection |
| ShiftH | Show everything |
| I | Isolate the selection |
| O | Toggle orthographic view |
| Esc | Cancel a measurement, clear the selection, close the panel |
Single-key shortcuts such as ?, F or H are ignored while you type in a field. Ctrl/⌘ shortcuts also work from inside a field in Single Column and the RC Building Estimator. In Site Plan, every shortcut waits until you leave the field.
Which reaction tables the importer reads, and how it turns reactions into foundation loads.
| Source | Table |
|---|---|
| ETABS, SAFE, SAP2000 (CSI) | “Joint Reactions” or “Support Reactions” exported to Excel or CSV; CSI key=value text |
| STAAD.Pro | Support Reactions (CSV or XLSX), with an optional .std for coordinates and load types |
| CivilTech template | A CSV with a P column |
Accepted files are .xlsx, .xlsm, .csv, .txt and .tsv. Legacy .xls is rejected, and so are member-force tables.
The engine works with the load the column puts on the foundation: P downward and compression-positive, Mx moving the resultant along +x (the footing length L, so ex = Mx / P), My moving it along +y (the width B). A reaction is the support’s force on the structure, so the importer negates it:
| Software | Vertical | P | Mx | My | Hx | Hy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CSI (ETABS, SAFE, SAP2000) | Z up | FZ | −MY | MX | −FX | −FY |
| STAAD | Y up | FY | MZ | MX | −FX | FZ |
If at least 80 % of the non-zero dead and live P values are negative, the file holds loads on supports rather than reactions; every component is negated and you are warned. Units come from a units row, the header (FZ (kN)) or your override; forces in kN, N, MN, kip, lb, kgf and tonf are recognised. The output is always kN, kN·m and mm.
| State | Label | Instruments |
|---|---|---|
| Bihar | Gazette-verified | Building Bye-laws 2014, Amendment 2022, UDHD Notification 10713 (2025), fee revision 2023 |
| Delhi | Draft — verify against gazette | MPD-2047; Unified Building Bye-laws 2016 with 2021 amendments |
| Jharkhand | Draft — verify against gazette | Building Bye-laws 2016 with amendments to 2024 (VIIIth not applied) |
| Uttar Pradesh | Draft — verify against gazette | Model Building Construction & Development Byelaws 2025, as amended 21-11-2025 |
Bihar fees vary by local-body class. Jharkhand has per-ULB FAR caps for 42 named bodies. Uttar Pradesh covers Development Authority areas, not NOIDA, Greater NOIDA or YEIDA.
Explanation
Every check is reported as demand ÷ capacity, with the combination, the clause and the working.
A check compares what the structure must carry (the demand) with what the code allows it to carry (the capacity). The studio reports the ratio demand ÷ capacity, so every check reads the same way: 0.80 has 20 % in hand, 1.00 is exactly at the limit, and anything above 1.00 fails.
Next to each ratio you see the load combination that produced it, the clause it comes from and the working — the intermediate values a checker would want. The check with the highest ratio governs. A design passes only when every check does; there is no averaging and no partial pass.
- The footing FEM cross-check analyses the designed footing as a plate on tensionless springs, or a strip as a beam on springs. A plate’s moments usually come out 3–8 % above the rigid method because of the twisting term, so the result is shown for review, flagged when it disagrees, and never changes pass or fail — the codes design footings by the rigid method.
- In Site Plan, crack-width checks are review-only, and a footing whose worst ratio is between 1.00 and 1.05 is flagged as marginal for you to judge.
- Input hints flag unusual values in amber and impossible ones in red as you type. They explain; they never block a run.
What you enter, what the engine generates from it, and the conventions it holds to.
You enter unfactored load cases at the top of the footing. The engine builds the code’s combinations from them in three families, because soil, concrete and stability are checked at different load levels:
| Family | Used for | Load level |
|---|---|---|
| Service | Soil bearing | Unfactored, per the code’s service rules |
| Strength | Concrete: bending, shear, punching, anchorage | Factored |
| Stability | Overturning, sliding, uplift | Favourable dead load factored down — for example 0.9D under IS 456 cl. 20 |
Wind acts one case at a time, in both senses. Earthquake in X and Y is combined 100 / 30. Your own combinations are designed for alongside the code’s, never instead of them.
Most soil reports quote a net safe bearing capacity — the pressure the soil can take above what the excavated ground already applied. Presumed values from tables are often gross. Tell the design basis which one you have, so the bearing check compares like with like. The Geotechnical module reports net SBC, and its hand-off to Foundation Design carries the basis with it.
Throughout the studio, Mx moves the load along X: the eccentricity ex = Mx / P is measured against the footing length L, and My moves it along Y against the width B. The load importer converts ETABS, SAFE, SAP2000 and STAAD reactions to this convention, so the same physical reaction gives the same loads whichever program it came from.
Inputs are metric. Modules with a unit toggle display Imperial values, and reports offer an Export units choice of SI or Imperial.
How a footing, pile cap or retaining wall is sized — and why the result is the cheapest that passes, not merely one that passes.
When you leave a size blank, the engine searches rather than guesses. For an isolated footing it lays out up to twelve plans — equal overhangs and aspect ratios up to your longest L:B, on your size step — and for each finds the least depth that passes and the lightest bars that work. A crack-width failure is fixed with more bars before the footing is made deeper.
Pad against sloped is then decided on total cost: concrete, steel, shuttering, excavation, backfill and blinding, at rates you can change. A plan with equal overhangs is preferred when it costs within 3 % of the cheapest, because it is easier to set out and less likely to be built wrong.
Every passing option is returned, not just the winner. Checking any option as given reproduces exactly the governing ratio the search reported — the search and the check are the same engine.
- A pile cap takes the fewest piles that work, then the least depth, then the lightest bars. Its cost includes the piles.
- A retaining wall’s Size it for me varies the base width, the split between toe and heel, the base and stem thicknesses and an optional key, and keeps the cheapest wall with every check passing, plus up to 15 alternatives. Re-running the chosen wall through the design gives the same governing ratio.
IntelliCascade™, the patent-pending site optimisation, and the final check every placed footing passes through.
Site Plan runs IntelliCascade™, CivilTech Studio’s patent-pending engine for designing the footings of a whole plot together. It works through the columns and footing types, places each footing within the boundary, and merges or reshapes footings that would clash.
Placement alone isn’t proof. A footing designed centred on its column and then pushed inward by the boundary carries the load off-centre; a footing that fits on its own may run into its neighbour. So every footing the optimiser places is checked again where it ends up, by the same engine as a single footing, with the column’s real offset and the bars the schedule actually gives it.
The final check tries remedies in order, keeping the first that passes:
- Redesign the bars and depth in place, when the soil and stability checks already pass.
- Strap the footing to a standing neighbour, or to the edge column facing it across the plot.
- Refit the footing, centred, within the room it has.
- Combine it with its neighbour into one footing.
- Join nearby failing columns on a local mat.
No two passing footings may overlap. A remedy that would run into a standing footing is refused. Anything still failing is reported with its reason and the remedy that would be needed; if even a mat over the whole plot exceeds the bearing capacity, you are told no shallow foundation works and piles should be considered.
How the engines are tested, what is still to confirm, and where your judgement comes in.
The Verification Library runs the production engine live against published and closed-form reference values — Das, Terzaghi, Taylor, Prandtl and exact theoretical identities — and shows computed against expected, the percentage error and a pass or fail for every case. Because it recomputes on every visit, a regression anywhere shows up there.
Behind it, the single-footing, combined-footing, pile-cap and retaining-wall engines are tested against hand calculations, and the browser tests check that the ratios on screen equal those hand values.
- Bye-laws results for Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi are labelled draft until checked against the printed gazettes. Rules not transcribed for a state are listed as not checked, and an unpublished fee is shown as unknown, never as zero.
- A few AS 3600 table values used by the footing engine are still to be confirmed against the published standard.
- Drawings print “as specified” or “not supplied” rather than inventing a value the design didn’t give.
What happens in your browser, what runs on CivilTech’s engines, and what is stored.
Forms, input hints, diagrams and the 3D views run in your browser. Design checks run on CivilTech’s engines: a Python engine for the code checks and reports, a compiled C++ solver for finite-element analysis, and a .NET service that draws the DXF files. Every engine call goes through the website, which checks your sign-in, your plan and your credits first.
Saved designs belong to your account, and only you and the people you share them with can open them. A share link carries the inputs in the URL, not the design record. In the BIM workspace, models stay in your browser and, when you are signed in, are also kept privately in your cloud storage.
Something missing or wrong? Tell us from the changelog page or the feedback button, and see the glossary for terms.
Comment on a design
Discuss a saved design in threads, @mention people who can open it, and resolve threads when they are settled.
@to mention someone who can open the design; pick them from the list.Reply, resolve and filter
Who can comment and who is notified
Anyone who can open the design comments on it: its owner, editors and viewers. A client or architect you add as a viewer can comment without being able to change the design. People you mention get an in-app notification that opens the design with the thread highlighted, and an email saying who mentioned them on which design — at most one per design an hour. A new thread notifies the design’s owner. To stop mention emails, use the link in one, or turn off When someone @mentions me in My practice.