ACI PRC-302.1-15 Guide to Concrete Floor and Slab Construction

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Description

The quality of a concrete floor or slab is highly dependent on achieving a hard and durable surface that is flat, relatively free of cracks, and at the proper grade and elevation. Properties of the surface are determined by the mixture proportions and the quality of the concreting and jointing operations. The timing of concreting operations—especially finishing, jointing, and curing—is critical. Failure to address this issue can contribute to undesirable characteristics in the wearing surface such as cracking, low resistance to wear, dusting, scaling, high or low spots, poor drainage, and increasing the potential for curling.

Concrete floor slabs employing portland cement, regardless of slump, will start to experience a reduction in volume as soon as they are placed. This phenomenon will continue as long as any water, heat, or both, is being released to the surroundings. Moreover, because the drying and cooling rates at the top and bottom of the slab are not the same, the shrinkage will vary throughout the depth, causing the as-cast shape to be distorted and reduced in volume.

This guide contains recommendations for controlling random cracking and edge curling caused by the concrete’s normal volume change. Application of present technology permits only a reduction in cracking and curling, not elimination. Even with the best floor designs and proper construction, it is unrealistic to expect completely crack- and curl-free floors. Consequently, every owner should be advised by both the designer and contractor that it is completely normal to expect some amount of cracking and curling on every project, and that such an occurrence does not necessarily reflect adversely on either the adequacy of the floor’s design or the quality of its construction (Ytterberg 1987).

This guide describes how to produce high-quality concrete slabs-on-ground and suspended floors for various classes of service. It emphasizes such aspects of construction as site preparation, concrete materials, concrete mixture proportions, concrete workmanship, joint construction, load transfer across joints, form stripping procedures, finishing methods, and curing. Flatness/levelness requirements and measurements are outlined. A thorough preconstruction meeting is critical to facilitate communication among key participants and to clearly establish expectations and procedures that will be employed during construction to achieve the floor qualities required by the project specifications. Adequate supervision and inspection are required for job operations, particularly those of finishing.

Keywords: admixture; aggregate; consolidation; contract documents; curing; curling; deflection; durability; form; fracture; joint; mixture proportioning; placing; quality control; slab-on-ground; slabs; slump test.

 

Document Details

Author: ACI Committee 302

Publication Year: 2015

Pages: 76

ISBN: 9781942727255

Categories: Slabs

Formats: Printed Document, Protected PDF/Web View, ePub, or Kindle

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1—INTRODUCTION

1.1—Purpose

1.2—Scope

CHAPTER 2—DEFINITIONS

CHAPTER 3—PREBID AND PRECONSTRUCTION MEETINGS

3.1—Prebid meeting

3.2—Preconstruction meeting

CHAPTER 4—CLASSES OF FLOORS

4.1—Classification of floors

4.2—Single-course monolithic floors: Classes 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6

4.3—Two-course floors: Classes 3, 7, and 8

4.4—Class 9 floors

4.5—Special finish floors

CHAPTER 5—DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

5.1—Scope

5.2—Slabs-on-ground

5.3—Suspended slabs

5.4—Miscellaneous details

CHAPTER 6—SITE PREPARATION AND PLACING ENVIRONMENT

6.1—Soil-support system preparation

6.2—Suspended slabs

6.3—Bulkheads

6.4—Setting screed guides

6.5—Installation of auxiliary materials

6.6—Concrete placement conditions

CHAPTER 7—ASSOCIATED MATERIALS

7.1—Introduction

7.2—Reinforcement

7.3—Special-purpose aggregates

7.4—Monomolecular films

7.5—Curing materials

7.6—Gloss-imparting waxes

7.7—Liquid surface treatments

7.8—Joint materials

7.9—Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)

CHAPTER 8—CONCRETE MATERIALS AND MIXTURE PROPORTIONING

8.1—Introduction

8.2—Concrete

8.3—Concrete properties

8.4—Recommended concrete mixture

8.5—Aggregates

8.6—Portland cement

8.7—Water

8.8—Admixtures

8.9—Concrete mixture analysis

CHAPTER 9—BATCHING, MIXING, AND TRANSPORTING

9.1—Batching

9.2—Mixing

9.3—Transporting

CHAPTER 10—PLACING, CONSOLIDATING, AND FINISHING

10.1—Placing operations

10.2—Tools for spreading, consolidating, and finishing

10.3—Spreading, consolidating, and finishing operations

10.4—Finishing Class 1, 2, and 3 floors

10.5—Finishing Class 4 and 5 floors

10.6—Finishing Class 6 floors and monolithic-surface treatments for wear resistance

10.7—Finishing Class 7 floors

10.8—Finishing Class 8 floors (two-course unbonded)

10.9—Finishing Class 9 floors

10.10—Toppings for precast floors

10.11—Finishing lightweight concrete

10.12—Nonslip floors

10.13—Decorative and nonslip treatments

10.14—Grinding as repair procedure

10.15—Floor flatness and levelness

10.16—Treatment when bleeding is a problem

10.17—Delays in cold-weather finishing

CHAPTER 11—CURING, PROTECTION, AND JOINT FILLING

11.1—Purpose of curing

11.2—Methods of curing

11.3—Curing at joints

11.4—Curing special concrete

11.5—Length of curing

11.6—Preventing plastic shrinkage cracking

11.7—Curing after grinding

11.8—Protection of slab during construction

11.9—Temperature drawdown in cold storage and freezer rooms

11.10—Joint filling and sealing

CHAPTER 12—QUALITY CONTROL CHECKLIST

12.1—Introduction

12.2—Partial list of important items to be observed

CHAPTER 13—CAUSES OF FLOOR AND SLAB SURFACE IMPERFECTIONS

13.1—Introduction

13.2—Random cracking

13.3—Low wear resistance

13.4—Dusting

13.5—Scaling

13.6—Popouts

13.7—Blisters and delamination

13.8—Spalling

13.9—Discoloration

13.10—Low spots and poor drainage

13.11—Slab edge curling

13.12—Evaluation of slab surface imperfections

CHAPTER 14—REFERENCES

ERRATA INFO

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