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Contractor poured grout in reinforced block wall without inspection

Contractor poured grout in reinforced block wall without inspection

Contractor poured grout in reinforced block wall without inspection

(OP)
I have a job with a 4-sided square (core) reinforced block walls that are designed as shear walls. The block wall and steel cross-bracing resist lateral loads from a mezzanine structure. Unfortunately, the contractor poured the grout without notifying me in advance to review the rebar placement. Our contract documents are clear in regards to when each field review is to occur.

I asked the contractor if he took any pictures. There is one picture that shows one of the four walls with the correct rebar placement.

Would a letter from the contractor stating that the work has been performed in accordance with the contract documents suffice? Should I have the contractor use rebar x-ray equipment to locate each bar?

How should I approach this?

RE: Contractor poured grout in reinforced block wall without inspection

1. Have a formal meeting with the Contractor (with meeting minutes, etc.) Review the appropriate sections in the contract concerning inspection.
2. Ask the Contractor to prepare a written proposal on what he will do about the situation. Schedule a follow-up meeting (say two days later) to have the Contractor review his proposal with you.
3. See what happens. If The Contractor has a reasonable proposal, accept it. If not... then start looking at alternate solutions.

Don't make this your problem, from the start. Leave it to the Contractor to propose solutions, such as x-ray... all of it at his expense.

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RE: Contractor poured grout in reinforced block wall without inspection

Just locating the rebar will not tell you the depth, size or grade used.

Unless the wall is solid grouted, you could determine the spacing by the grouted cell spacing, obviously. Otherwise, a ferroscanner will help to a certain depth of concrete, but not give you all the answers you need.

Mike McCann, PE, SE (WA)


RE: Contractor poured grout in reinforced block wall without inspection

What about some destructive examination of a few cells here and there to see the rebar, and then re-filling with grout.

I'd like to hear from other engineers, as I have done this in the past. Contractor's are not too unhappy if they can use their own men to do this, and not pay for testing labs

RE: Contractor poured grout in reinforced block wall without inspection

What PT999 suggests is what I did several years ago. Got in a disagreement over what to do with the Owner's project manager and the contractor.
They initially "told" me to write a letter saying it all was good, which I refused as I didn't know whether it was "good" or not.

We then resolved to do some partial wall demo to reveal a few "typical" bars to verify the bar size, position and lap length out of the concrete base.

Then I wrote a letter saying that what we saw was in general conformance with the plans. I didn't write a letter saying it was "good".

Also - on my own I reviewed the design and looked at how various conditions (missing rebar, mis-placed rebar, etc.) might affect the overall design capacity and ultimately the public safety and welfare. I had to convince myself that it was acceptable.

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RE: Contractor poured grout in reinforced block wall without inspection

Non destructive testing at contractor's expense.

When I am working on a problem, I never think about beauty but when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong.

-R. Buckminster Fuller

RE: Contractor poured grout in reinforced block wall without inspection

This is an issue for the owner to decide based on your input.

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