Structural Concrete Freeze Damage
Structural Concrete Freeze Damage
(OP)
A contractor has built several structural foundations. They were built and cured according to project and ACI specifications. These foundations contain block-outs and embedded metals (i.e. anchor bolts with and without sleeves or cans). The contractor was given a completion date and was to be done in the fall. He finished and the structures sat idle until the subsequent contractor was to take the area over. Since the completion date, it has rained, snowed, froze, and thawed while these foundations were exposed to the elements. Water/ice sat in the block-outs and in the cans and now there is thermal/freeze damage to the concrete, especially between the embeds. The engineer is saying that this is a warranty issue while the contractor disagrees since he met the completion date and was out of the area.
Has anyone ever dealt with this situation before? Which party is correct? What documentation is out there to prove this?
Thank you for your input.
Has anyone ever dealt with this situation before? Which party is correct? What documentation is out there to prove this?
Thank you for your input.






RE: Structural Concrete Freeze Damage
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RE: Structural Concrete Freeze Damage
RE: Structural Concrete Freeze Damage
RE: Structural Concrete Freeze Damage
RE: Structural Concrete Freeze Damage
RE: Structural Concrete Freeze Damage
RE: Structural Concrete Freeze Damage
I quick visual inspection would detect the obvious. If you wanted to check for microcracking, a core could be taken and petrography done on it to check for such damage.
RE: Structural Concrete Freeze Damage
RE: Structural Concrete Freeze Damage
Yes, there are visual cracks in the concrete. The cracks seem to extend between the bolt cans which leads me to believe that ice in the cans expanded and caused the cracking. The biggest question is: is the contractor responsible for this fix? As previously stated, the contractor had completed the foundation and the area has been turned over to the subsequent contractor. It seems to me that the damage was out of the contractor's control, and this cannot be blamed on workmanship.
By the way, the air content was around 6%.
RE: Structural Concrete Freeze Damage
RE: Structural Concrete Freeze Damage
Yep...there's damage. Is it a contractor's fault....as others have said...it's likely a contractual issue.
Can the damage be repaired? Possibly...depends on the extent. Epoxy injection might suffice.
RE: Structural Concrete Freeze Damage
I think there may be a responsibility on the part of the contractor to take prudent measures to protect his work in the event of freezing conditions.
Best regards,
BA