# Grade 40 or Grade 60 sarya: which steel bars to use for a house, and the price gap

URL: https://which.pk/property/guides/grade-40-vs-grade-60-steel/
Author: Ahtisham
Updated: 20 Oct 2026

## Summary

Grade 40 vs Grade 60 steel comes down to yield strength: at least 40,000 psi (280 MPa) for Grade 40 and 60,000 psi (420 MPa) for Grade 60 under ASTM A615. Use the grade your structural drawings name; don't swap Grade 40 into a Grade 60 design. Kamran Steel's mill rate on 14 October 2026 was Rs 275,000 a tonne for Grade 40 and Rs 277,000 for Grade 60. PBS tracks only Grade 40, at Rs 231,380 in Lahore in September 2026.

## Key facts

- Grade 40 minimum yield: 40,000 psi (280 MPa)
- Grade 60 minimum yield: 60,000 psi (420 MPa)
- Price gap, Kamran Steel (14 Oct 2026): Rs 2,000 a tonne
- PBS Grade 40, Lahore (Sep 2026): Rs 2.31 lakh a tonne

**Grade 40 vs Grade 60 steel comes down to strength: Grade 60 bars yield at no less than 60,000 psi (420 MPa), Grade 40 at 40,000 psi (280 MPa)**, under the American standard ASTM A615, which Amreli, Agha and Mughal make bars to. Use the grade your structural drawings name. The price gap is small: on 14 October 2026, Kamran Steel in Lahore listed Grade 60 at **Rs 277,000 a tonne** and Grade 40 at Rs 275,000.

Below: what the grades mean, what to use, why official price tables understate Grade 60, and how to check bars on delivery.

## What is the difference between Grade 40 and Grade 60 steel?

The grade is the bar's minimum **yield strength**: the stress at which it starts to stretch and stay bent.

| Grade (ASTM A615) | Minimum yield strength | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 40 | 40,000 psi (280 MPa) | The lowest grade in the standard |
| Grade 60 | 60,000 psi (420 MPa) | 1.5 times Grade 40 |
| Grade 75, 80, 100 | 75,000 to 100,000 psi | Higher grades; Agha and Mughal list Grade 80 |
| BS 4449 Grade 500 | 72,500 psi (Amreli's figure) | British standard bar, sold by Amreli, Agha and Mughal |

Sources: ASTM A615/A615M-16; Amreli Steels buying guide.

Amreli lists the standards commonly used in Pakistan as ASTM A615, ASTM A706, BS 4449, and the Pakistani standards PS 1879 and PS 1612. Mughal Steel makes deformed bars to **PS 1879 in Grade 60**, and says its bars are under "mandatory compliance" with the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA).

## Which grade should you use for a house?

**The one on your structural drawings.** Amreli's buying guide tells buyers to ask the architect, structural engineer or contractor which standard and grade the project needs. The engineer sizes the bars and their spacing for that grade.

Don't buy Grade 40 for a Grade 60 design to save money. At the same bar size, Grade 40 has two-thirds of the yield strength, and the saving is tiny (see below). If you want to use a different grade, the engineer has to redo the design.

Published Pakistani take-offs assume Grade 60. Zameen's breakdowns, with rates from Alpha Construction, list 3,000 kg of Grade 60 for a 5 marla house, 5,000 kg for 10 marla and 9,000 kg for 1 kanal.

Some mills sell bars for earthquake-resistant frames to ASTM A706: Amreli's Ultima and Agha's A706 bars, which Agha links to the American concrete code ACI 318. Pakistan's seismic building code (Building Code of Pakistan, Seismic Provisions 2007) is issued by the Ministry of Housing and Works. We couldn't find a citable copy of its text to say which grades it allows, so we don't claim a rule here.

## What is the Grade 60 steel price, and how big is the gap?

Only one mill we checked publishes its rate:

| Date | Grade 40 (tonne) | Grade 60 (tonne) | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Sep 2026 | Rs 275,000 | Rs 277,000 | Rs 2,000 |
| 30 Sep 2026 | Rs 275,000 | Rs 277,000 | Rs 2,000 |
| 14 Oct 2026 | Rs 275,000 | Rs 277,000 | Rs 2,000 |

Source: Kamran Steel, Lahore, its own published rate, the same in every city. Amreli, Agha and Mughal show no prices on their sites.

A Rs 2,000 a tonne gap is 0.7%. On our [construction material calculator](/property/tools/construction-material-estimator/), that adds:

- about Rs 5,500 to Rs 7,500 for a 5 marla house with load-bearing brick walls (2.8 to 3.8 tonnes)
- about Rs 9,200 to Rs 12,500 for a 10 marla house (4.6 to 6.3 tonnes)
- about Rs 33,300 to Rs 42,800 for a 1 kanal house with a full RCC frame (16.7 to 21.4 tonnes)

## Why do official steel prices show only Grade 40?

PBS (Pakistan Bureau of Statistics) prices one steel item in its city table: **"Iron bars (1/2" 40 grade) (M.S. bars)"**. In September 2026, its latest month, that was Rs 231,380 a tonne in Lahore, Rs 241,542 in Karachi and Rs 246,167 in Islamabad.

So every price page and calculator built on PBS, including [construction material prices](/property/guides/construction-material-prices/) and our calculator, prices Grade 40. For a Grade 60 house the steel line is understated.

There is a second gap. Kamran Steel's October list price for Grade 40 is **Rs 43,620 (19%) above** PBS's September Lahore average for the same grade. Neither source explains the difference. Treat PBS as a trend line and get two dealer quotes for the grade on your drawings before you buy.

At wholesale, steel bar and sheet prices were 5.29% higher in September 2026 than a year earlier, and 0.91% lower than in August.

## How do you check steel bars on delivery?

Amreli's buying guide lists these checks:

1. **Maker's name on the bar.** Genuine bars carry the manufacturer's name along their length. Mills show their markings on their websites.
2. **Deformed bars, not TOR bars.** Deformed bars are rolled from steel billets to a standard. TOR bars are cut from old ship plates and twisted by hand.
3. **Weight.** Weigh the bars when they are loaded and delivered, or ask for a third-party weighbridge slip.
4. **Bend test.** Lift one bar from a bundle by one end and let go. Good bars spring back close to straight; poor ones stay bent.
5. **Ribs.** The rib pattern should be even along the whole bar.

To check weight, use the standard weight per foot:

| Bar size | Weight per foot | 40 ft length |
|---|---|---|
| 3/8 inch | 0.171 kg | 6.8 kg |
| 1/2 inch | 0.303 kg | 12.1 kg |
| 5/8 inch | 0.473 kg | 18.9 kg |
| 3/4 inch | 0.681 kg | 27.2 kg |

From the ASTM nominal weights (lb per foot) published by Continental Steel, converted to kg (our calculation). If the weighbridge figure is well below this for the lengths delivered, ask the dealer why.

**Grade 500 and steel savings:** Amreli markets its BS 4449 Grade 500 bar as using up to 15% less steel than ASTM A615 Grade 60. That saving only holds if the engineer designs for Grade 500. It is the maker's claim, not a tested figure.

More guides: [which cement is best](/property/guides/which-cement-is-best/), [1 kanal house construction cost](/property/guides/1-kanal-house-construction-cost/), [10 marla house construction cost](/property/guides/10-marla-house-construction-cost/), [grey structure cost](/property/guides/grey-structure-cost/), [house construction cost in Pakistan](/property/guides/house-construction-cost-pakistan/).

## Questions people ask

### What is the yield strength of Grade 60 steel?

At least 60,000 psi, or 420 MPa, under ASTM A615. Grade 40 is at least 40,000 psi (280 MPa), so Grade 60 is 1.5 times as strong at yield.

### What is the Grade 60 steel price in Pakistan today?

Kamran Steel, a Lahore mill, listed Grade 60 at Rs 277 a kg (Rs 277,000 a tonne) on 14 October 2026, the same rate it listed on 24 and 30 September. Other mills we checked publish no prices.

### How much more does Grade 60 cost than Grade 40?

Rs 2,000 a tonne, or 0.7%, at Kamran Steel on 14 October 2026. For the 4.6 to 6.3 tonnes a 10 marla house with brick walls needs on our calculator, that is about Rs 9,200 to Rs 12,500.

### Can I use Grade 40 steel instead of Grade 60?

Not in place of Grade 60 bars of the same size and spacing: Grade 40 has two-thirds of the yield strength. Use the grade your structural engineer designed for, or ask the engineer to redesign.

### Which steel is best for house construction in Pakistan?

Deformed bars made from billets to a named standard (ASTM A615, PS 1879 or BS 4449), in the grade on your drawings. Amreli's guide sets these apart from TOR bars, which are cut from old ship plates and twisted by hand.

## Sources

- [ASTM A615/A615M-16: Deformed and Plain Carbon-Steel Bars for Concrete Reinforcement](https://store.astm.org/a0615_a0615m-16.html), ASTM International (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- [Urban Inter-City Consumer Prices of Construction and Energy Items, September 2026](https://www.pbs.gov.pk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Urbn-Construction-11.xlsx), Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- [Monthly Review on Price Indices, September 2026](https://www.pbs.gov.pk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Monthly-Review-September2026.pdf), Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (accessed 18 Oct 2026)
- [Steel prices in Pakistan (rate confirmed 14 Oct 2026)](https://kamransteel.com/steel-prices-in-pakistan/), Kamran Steel (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- [Guide to Buying Steel Bars](https://amrelisteels.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Guide-to-Buying-Steel-Bars-English.pdf), Amreli Steels (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- [Products](https://amrelisteels.com/products/), Amreli Steels (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- [Products and quality controls](https://aghasteel.com/products-and-quality-controls/), Agha Steel (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- [Bars: grades and standards](https://mughalsteel.com.pk/products/long-rolled-products/bars/), Mughal Iron & Steel Industries (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- [Reinforcing bars: size and weight table](https://continentalsteel.com/printitems/steel-bars/reinforcing-bars-rebars-), Continental Steel & Tube (accessed 20 Oct 2026)