Table of Contents
Chapter 1—Safety 4
Most Accidents Are Not Accidents 5
The Need for a Company Safety Program 5
Concrete Construction Hazards 5
Daily Safety Meeting 7
Experience Modification Rate and Incident Rate 7
Chapter 2—The Concrete Mixture 10
Control Tests 10
Cement 14
Other Cementitious Materials 15
Mixing Water 16
Water-Cementitious Materials Ratio 17
Aggregates 17
Admixtures 19
Concrete Mixture Design 21
Water Addition at the Jobsite 24
Set Time 25
Chapter 3—The Concrete Specification 28
Specification Formats 29
Sources for Concrete Specifications References 30
Reference Specifications 31
Specification Categories 32
Acceptance Criteria 32
Assignment of Risk 33
Strength 33
Acceptance Testing 33
Early Strength Requirements 35
Flexural Strength 35
Water-Cement Ratio (w/c) and Water-Cementitious Materials Ratio (w/cm) 36
Minimum Cement Content 36
Slump 36
Air Entrainment 37
Chemical Admixtures 38
Delivery Time for Ready Mixed Concrete 38
Hot Weather Concrete 39
Mass Concrete Placements 39
Cold Weather Concrete 39
Flatwork Finish Acceptance Criteria 40
Chapter 4—Foundations 42
The Ground Below 43
Bearing Capacity 43
Geotechnical Investigations 43
Compaction 44
Basic Foundation Types 45
Groundwater Control 48
Footing Forms 49
Moisture Control 51
Backfilling 51
Chapter 5—Formwork 54
Safety Precautions 55
Formwork Affects Concrete Quality 56
Types of Forms 57
Form Material and Hardware 64
Design of Forms 68
Placing Concrete in Forms 73
Cost of Formwork 78
Form Removal 81
Shoring and Reshoring 82
Formwork for Slabs-on-Ground and Continuous Footings 84
Chapter 6—Reinforcement in Structures 88
Why Use Steel Reinforcement? 88
Engineering and Placing Drawings 90
Types of Reinforcement 91
Reinforcing Bar Fabrication 97
Storing and Handling Reinforcing Bars on the Job 99
Concrete Cover 100
Tolerances in Placing Steel Reinforcement 100
Placing of Reinforcement 101
Bar Supports and Spacers 103
Splicing Reinforcing Steel 104
Coordination 105
Chapter 7—Joints and Embedments in Structures 108
Types of Joints in Structural Elements 109
Construction Joints for Supported Beams and Slabs 110
Contraction Joints for Walls 110
Isolation Joints for Walls 111
Construction Joints in Walls 112
Waterstops 113
Embedments 114
Anchors 117
Points to Remember 119
Chapter 8—Joints and Reinforcement for
Slabs-on-Ground 120
Volume Changes 121
Contraction (Control) Joints 121
Construction Joints 124
Isolation Joints (Expansion Joints) 125
Reinforcement in a Slab 126
Chapter 9—Planning for Quality 132
Elements of Quality Management 132
Management Responsibility 133
Quality Management System 133
The Site-Specific Quality Plan 134
Contract Review 135
Design Control 136
Document and Data Control 136
Purchasing 137
Process Control 138
Inspection and Testing 139
Control of Nonconforming Product, Corrective Action, and Preventive Action 140
Control of Quality Records 140
Training and Certification 140
Chapter 10—Preparing for Concreting 144
Contractor/Ready Mixed Concrete Producer Cooperation 145
Preconstruction Conference 147
Jobsite Preparation 150
A Checklist for Major Projects 151
Chapter 11—Concrete Placement and Finishing 174
Depositing Concrete from the Concrete Truck 174
Buggying Concrete 175
Belt Conveyors 175
Bucket Placement 176
Pumping Concrete 176
Pumping Lightweight Concrete 177
Consolidation during Placement 178
Controlling Placement 179
Hot Weather Placement 179
Cold Weather Placement 181
Vibratory Screeds 182
Finishing a Slab-on-Ground 182
Floor Surface Finish Tolerances 184
Curing to Maintain Proper Moisture Content 186
Chapter 12—Common Field Problems—
Cause and Prevention 190
Fresh Concrete 190
Hardened Concrete 196
Appendix A—Legal Issues 204
Responsibility for the Concrete Mixture 204
Concrete Defects 205
Cracking of Concrete 206
Standard of Care 209
Substantial Performance 209
Delivery Tickets and Acceptance 210
Spearin Doctrine 210
Unforeseen Conditions 210
Inspection/Observation/Supervision 211
Dispute Resolution 211
Personal Injury 212
Appendix B—ASCC Position Statements 214
Appendix C—ACI Certification Programs 258
Testing Programs 258
Inspection Programs 259
Construction/Specialist Programs