Jim Klinger, concrete construction specialist, The Voice Newsletter October 2021
Note #1: The ASCC Technical Division welcomes member phone calls to our Hotline and email traffic submitted by members either through the Forum or directly to us. Already this year we have fielded several hundred requests from our members for assistance with technical issues ranging from apparent cold joints in the middle of a mat pour to suggested work-arounds for metal deck shortages and similar supply-chain sourcing issues. In most cases, the calls or emails involve time-dependent concrete construction issues needing to be addressed in a timely manner. In order to provide the most efficient service, consider including the following information with your initial email request. For Hotline calls, companion emails containing relevant backup information can be very helpful as well…
State the problem in as much detail as possible…
Send copies of the construction documents, including relevant plans, specifications, mix designs. Use Dropbox or similar for large file sizes...
Whenever possible, include photographs or videos…
Consider sending us your proposal letter and your contractual scope of work to help us understand what work product you owe the project…
Send copies of field, inspection and test reports prepared either in-house or by others. Send copies of relevant project correspondence…
For issues related to cracking, send photographs and crack field maps, preferably marked up on structural plans that indicate design location of control joints…
Send copies of non-compliance reports…
For performance-related problems (e.g. cracking, curling, delamination, scaling, excessive deflection, etc.) explain when the issue was first detected relative to time of initial concrete placement…
For mix designs, include supporting strength data and shrinkage data…
If all else fails, do not hesitate to pick up the phone and call the ASCC Hotline…
Note #2: The ASCC Technical Division needs some help as well...
We need clear photographs of reinforcing steel congestion in walls, slabs, beams and columns that are really beyond the pale. Conflicts with PT tendons are a plus…
We are looking for example details where the licensed design professional actually made provisions in the structural drawings for vibrator access through congested reinforcing steel in walls, slabs, beams, etc...
We are looking for examples where the licensed design professional assigned a tolerance to the portion of column anchor bolts embedded in a pile cap, footing or mat slab. Such a tolerance would be shown relative to top of concrete and the end of the anchor bolt...
As a concrete contractor, have you ever been asked to become involved in a project to provide constructability service or counsel to an owner or licensed design professional related to concrete construction or logistics at the early schematic phase of a project? If you have, we would appreciate hearing about your experience…
At the start of a concrete construction project, how do you typically handle the provision and maintenance of jobsite curing facilities to be used by the testing agency for the lab- cured acceptance cylinders? In many cases, such items as water and temporary electrical power are assigned to the general contractor. If the testing agency has requirements not known at the time of your bid, how do you craft your bid proposal? Do you ever get saddled with transporting or handling test cylinders, say moving them from an upper floor level to the ground? Do you typically provide a jobsite cylinder storage box? Do the testing agency reports include data indicating cylinder temperature for the first 24 hours after casting? Let us know…
Are any of your projects using temperature-match curing? If they are, please let us know how the cylinders are handled, stored and transported during the first 24 hours after molding…
Note #3: Thanks to all of the ASCC members who attended our September Annual Conference and participated in the Technical Committee meetings and roundtables. This was my first conference, and it became instantly (and painfully) obvious to me that our membership is just full of wonderfully talented characters. Thanks to all of the folks who stopped me in the hallway or at meetings to introduce themselves and say hello…
Note #4: Thanks to all of the ASCC members who had anything at all to do with the event preparation and behind-the-scenes work…in particular any of the glass, antique wood and chain- link fence specialists that may have been assisting the Safety Awards committee…
Note #5: Here’s a bit of old-school investment advice. Purchase a 3-ring binder and print paper copies of ACI 301-20, ACI 117-10 and the current copies of the 44 ASCC Position Statements. At first glance, there is a lot of material in there. But in most cases, this is material that describes scope items that you contractually owe to a project. In other words, you either need to know the material outright or at least be able to find the information quickly. All it takes is thumbing through the pages for about an hour or so each week just to stay familiar with the binder contents…